Day 113 – EU – Italy [Pontelongo to Padua]

14/06/20

30km

  From Pontelongo (Italy) to Padua (Italy)

Europe

A shorter day of running, giving my body more time to adjust

I was glad the air was cool as I left this morning. There was a storm in the night and the temperatures went down about 5-7 degrees Celsius overnight. A welcome respite!

I could have gotten straight to Venice today, but in my planning I had opted for a day inland, through Padua. This city evoked me a lot of history and I was keen to visit. It is also good timing as it was a short 30km run to reach the city. I welcomed the short run and took my time along the way, enjoying the landscapes and quiet surroundings.

The first half of the run was by a canal, heading West, on a quiet road with no traffic, to Cagnola. Then I turned North towards Padua and I had the luxury of a cycling path right up to the city. And as if it weren’t enough, as I reached Padua, I got to run on the trails alongside the Bacchiglione River. Absolutely awesome and peaceful.

I arrived, for once, very early. I was on my guards as it was Sunday and I was quite keen not to miss out on my lunch today. Luckily I found a great spot on the Piazza Duomo, opposite the Cathedral Di Santa Maria Assunta. I enjoyed a lunch punctuated by the bells of the Cathedral and surrounding churches. All the buildings around the Piazza bore traces of history, frescoes, ancient roman architecture, pillars, marbles… Time travelling, how beautiful.

I have a bit of walking around to do this afternoon. And I am quite excited at the idea of running towards Venice tomorrow. A city I have never visited ever!

In the news this morning, I read about protesters in Venice, quite fiercely protesting against the influx of tourists in the city. As always, I am hoping that my arriving by foot pushing a stroller will not identify me straight away as a tourist..!

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: