When Brian Michasiw’s wife first suggested he and his teenage son sign up for a run tour on a recent trip to Mexico City, Brian was skeptical. After all, he had lots of experience running through new cities without any assistance.
But they ultimately gave it a try — and now Brian wants others to consider making run tours part of their travel itineraries.
“Not only did we get a workout, we were able to talk and ask questions. I would 100 per cent do this in any other city I go to because you just get so much more perspective and your visit to that city is so much richer and deeper because you have a chance to understand its people and its history,” Brain says. “Brainsport Time readers should be aware of this really cool thing that they can probably experience in many cities across the world.”
Brian and his son Oskar ended up in Mexico earlier this month because Oskar, a competitive cyclist, was competing in the Belgian Waffle Ride Querétaro gravel bike race some 200 kilometres northwest of Mexico City. The pair flew in and out of Mexico City and spent a few days touring around after Oskar’s race (he finished 11th in the 166km event).
They booked a private tour through Go! Running Tours, which operates in dozens of cities around the world including Montreal and Toronto. The tours are great ways to find hidden gems in unfamiliar places, keep up a workout routine while travelling and fight jet lag, says Citlaltzin Soto, the guide who Brian and Oskar booked with.
Soto, who has been a running guide for nearly 10 years, took the Saskatonians on a 10km run around Mexico City, chatting all the while. “I had a lot of questions about colonization and Indigenous people in Mexico City and she gave us a lot of insight into that and told us a lot about the history of Mexico and the current events in Mexico,” Brian says. “It was just such a great experience.”
And a great experience for Soto as well, who was happy to run at whatever pace the Michasiws were comfortable and stop as often as they wanted. “I get asked if I don’t get bored of running in the same routes or the same tour so many times and my answer is always ‘no.’ I feel extremely lucky and happy of having the opportunity of meeting all kinds of incredible people and great runners. All of them have different ideas and perspectives about my country and my city. I loved when they share that with me,” she says.
“As runners we are not always in the best mood to run, sometimes you feel tired or it is simply not your best day, so when I’m feeling like that, a running tour makes me feel so much better, watching my guest expectation for the running tour and experiencing my city through their eyes improves my mood instantly and all I want to do is running. It is a win-win situation … This is my dream job and I hope to be able to give running tours for many, many years.”
Despite enjoying himself, Brian has no plans to start offering Saskatoon running tours out of Brainsport.
“We’re truly drinking from a firehose at work right now so this isn’t something I’m adding to my plate,” he says. “But I think someone in Saskatoon should do this.”
