4-DAY TRAIL RUNNING HOLIDAY – LANDSCAPE & NATURE OF TUSCANY

This is the ultimate 4-Day Holiday in Tuscany while running! Discover different locations with an expert local guide to appreciate Tuscany’s landscape and nature.

HOW IT WORKS
You book a private running guide that each day will guide you in a different location of Tuscany so you can decide to find an accommodation (that is not included in this package) in each town or you can use public or private transport (that is not included in this package) to reach each location. Considering that Tuscany is not that big, you may transfer to each town within a maximum of one hour by car, train, or bus. So you can stay in one place, for example, you may stay in Florence and you can easily run in Siena, Pisa, and Lucca. We are ready to help you to find the best accommodation and transport, just ask!

We have on purpose excluded accommodation and meals from our holidays, as it enables guests to book the hotels and eat at the restaurants they prefer.

This running holiday is fully customisable. We can add more days or adjust routes to your preference. Just reach out and let’s plan for your perfect holiday!

What’s Included in the Price?

• Private guide on every run
• Pictures
• Hotel Pick-up (when located close to the route)

What’s NOT Included in the Price?

• Accommodation
• Meals
• Transport

The Tuscan landscape is famous around the world. With this running holiday, you’ll learn a lot about how this landscape was built with centuries of human work. The tours are mainly on trails, varying from the ups and downs of the Chianti Hills, the river Serchio and its wild aspect, the “quarryman” path from Fiesole.

The tours are suitable for any kind of runner but consider that some of the trails may be a little bit technical, so it is better if you have some experience in trail running.

Your itinerary for the perfect 4-Day Trail Running Holiday – Landscape and Nature of Tuscany:

1) FLORENCE CHIANTI TOUR – 13K

Discover the incredible landscape of Chianti while running. Not far from Florence, this run is a dive into everything that makes this region so famous and picturesque: hills, vineyards, farms, villas, country churches, olive trees and much more! A couple of hours of pure running emotion!

The Chianti is a hilly region between Florence, Siena and Arezzo. World famous for its red wine as well as being painted in the most beautiful renaissance masterpieces of Piero della Francesca, Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. This running tour gives you the opportunity to dive deep into the mysteries of the Chianti region. Discover how centuries of human work have shaped this landscape like a sculpture. The tour starts at the railway station of Rignano sull’Arno, a small village 30 km from Florence that can be easily reached by regional train.

Climbing uphill, runners will reach vineyards and typical Tuscan farmhouses that were part of the Podere. In the morning it is also common to meet a pheasant or a deer and the atmosphere is magical while running between the olive trees looking at an endless succession of hills in the landscape. The course is never flat, with varied sights of fields, small country tabernacles, woods and small villages. Colours change continuously depending on the time of the day or the season. The landscape always looks like a painting, the cypress like brushstrokes along a country road.

Climbing to the top of a hill we will reach the monastery of San Cristoforo in Perticaia, and after crossing a wood we will see the tiny gem of the stone church of St. Petere’s in Perticaia, dominating the landscape of the Arno valley on one side and the Chianti region on the other. Going downhill we will cross the incredible countryside around a farm and Villa Pagnana with vineyards on one side and olive trees on the other.
The tour is mainly run on dirt roads with almost no traffic. The path is suitable for any kind of runner but as Chianti is a hilly region be ready to climb a little bit! Anyway, as it is a private tour we can make as many stops as we like and also walk if needed.

Distance: 13k
Time: from 1h and 45 mins to 2h and 15 mins
Pace: individual
Stops: 6-8stops/10km
Route: Circular – starts and ends at the same place.

2) FLORENCE TRAIL RUN – 17K

A unique running tour that combines a hilly trail run with incredible historical places, stunning views and hidden corners. From the ancient Etruscan walls of Fiesole, to the heart of Florence, across wild woods with spectacular views on the city.

This wild trail running tour will guide you to the heart of Florence via a run through history, landscape and nature.

Time to get back in time. Starting in the small and quaint center of Fiesole in the hills next to Florence runners will take in the beauty and atmosphere of this village that was founded by the Etruscan in the IV sec B.C. As we begin our run prepare yourself to enjoy a mixture of history and nature. You will run by the Roman Amphitheater and have incredible views of the “Craddle of Renaissance” as Florence is also called, before diving into the wild woods. The trail of the ancient stone quarries will lead runners down the hill where we reach small and picturesque villages surrounded by olive trees and the typical Tuscan landscape. After reaching the riverside we will make our way into the city center with the impressive scenario of Ponte Vecchio and the best known architectures of Florence greeting us.

The course is hilly but mainly downhill. The course ground is mixed but mainly asphalt, stones and dirt we suggest to use trail running shoes. The trail in some short parts is a little bit technical but we can also walk if you are not an expert trail runner.

This tour is suitable for a trained runner because of the distance and the hills.

Distance: 17k
Time: from 2h to 3h
Pace: individual
Stops: 6-8stops/10km
Route: Circular – starts in Fiesole and ends in Florence.

3) LUCCA AND SERCHIO RIVER TOUR – 15K

This tour touches the city center of Lucca. The ancient walls of Lucca are so tempting that they urge you to grab your running shoes and go! The walls of Lucca bound an ideal track: flat, tree-lined, wide, pedestrian-friendly, and with gorgeous views all year round. You will enjoy beautiful views of the rooftops, the pretty balconies and secret gardens of the old palaces, the bell towers popping up here and there, the high mountains in the far distance. Join me up and down the walls and even inside them. Let me describe the history and curiosities of this incredible Renaissance fortification that intimidated even the mighty Medici family from Florence.

We will further run through the narrow winding city streets. When you least expect it, you’ll see the shiny mosaic of Saint Frediano. Next comes the intricate patterns on the facade of Saint Martin, the famous fountains, the lively Napoleon square and the unique oval square of the Amphitheater.

We’ll run along the Serchio river on a nice dirt road in a very scenic natural landscape from which we can view the Apuane Alps where Michelangelo’s marble comes from.

Distance: 15k
Time: from 2h to 2h and 30mins
Pace: individual
Stops: 6-8stops/10km
Route: Circular – starts and ends at the same place.

4) SAN ROSSORE REGIONAL NATURAL PARK TRAIL – 14K

San Rossore is a Regional Park close to the seaside with very nice Pine tree woods and humid areas. This used to be the king of Italy hunting spot.  It has various types of natural environments. The wooded area is predominant, in fact a third of the Park’s surface is covered with woods and features poplar, alder, ash, holm oak and pine trees (domestic pine and maritime pine). There are also dunes and marshy areas. In these environments there is a rare flora (sundews, osmunda, pink hibiscus).

The fauna includes a rich variety of birds including: mallard ducks, herons (the grey heron, the great egret and the little egret), waders, gulls, ducks and cormorants. Also present are the buzzard, the black-winged stilt, the bee-eater and the gurnards. In the woods it is easy to encounter the green and red woodpecker species. It is the nesting area of the Kentish plover.

The presence of amphibians and reptiles, including the viper, is notable.

Some of the freshwater fish typical of the Italian plains are present (carp, pike, tench…), as well as fish that swim up rivers from the sea such as eels and mullet. The latter also enter Lake Massaciuccoli. It is important to mention the presence of the Louisiana red shrimp, also known as the killer shrimp, which spread from the lake to the swamp and subsequently to all humid environments, not just those surrounding the park.

Several medium and small mammals also live in the Park, including the fallow deer, wild boar, wild rabbit and red fox.

The course is completely flat on dirt trails and is suitable for any kind of runner with normal running shoes.

Distance: 14k
Time: from 1h and 45 mins to 2h and 15 mins
Pace: individual
Stops: 6-8stops/10km
Route: Circular – starts and ends at the same place.

Please note that these tours are on trails, and the route may be varied slightly depending if weather and trail conditions dictates so.