Dress shirts. Check. Underwear. Check. Toothbrush. Check.  Most importantly, running shoes. Check.

I do my best to pack for a nice run and change in scenery when traveling away from home.

This week, my destination was Washington, D.C. As a dad with little kids, I am easily impressed by hotels. All I need is a quiet, semi-waterproof room.  However, I was particularly impressed with this hotel’s hospitality towards runners.

As I stumbled out of my room at 5am, I noticed a small table by the lobby door. On it was a sign welcoming runners and little pamphlets with suggested running routes in the city. Who says nothing gets done in Washington!

I followed the suggested route to the rectangular green area where the Capital, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial are located. My workout prescribed 8 miles, including a 4 mile tempo run. For the tempo, I settled on running laps around the 0.75 mile reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Abe Lincoln looked seriously puzzled by me running loops in front of him. But, I didn’t care - it was flat, well-lit, and at least I wasn’t sitting on my butt in a big chair like he was.

When I got back to my hotel, the little table by the lobby door had towels, bottled water, and fresh fruit! (A donut would have been nice, but the apple and water were pleasant surprises.)

Having run away from home before, I have had similar good experiences. 

To encourage more in the future, below is my list of the top runner friendly hotels chains:  

• Westin – RunWestin™ program is a partnership with New Balance® that provides runner routes, gear, daily guided group runs, and on-site coaches in many popular locations.
   
• Fairmont – Fairmont Fit program provides Reebok® runner gear delivered directly to you room (in case you failed to follow my packing instructions.)
   
• Hyatt – Stay Fit program loans runners GPS watches, shoes, and other gear. The hotel also has running maps available for top locations.  

Now, of course, you can always run on the hotel treadmill. But after my epic treadmill experience last week, running away from home was a nice treat – but I still would have liked that donut.