Just wondering if I will be ridiculed or targeted as a somewhat overweight, almost-50 jogger in Paris or Brussels. I've come to enjoy morning runs at home and would like to keep it up while on a holiday in Paris, Belgium and the Netherlands. Staying near the Lovre (Hotel Louvre St Honore) and dream of jogging along the Seine between 7 and 8 am. Is it safe? Will I be judged as an overweight American obsessed with exercise?

You will not even be noticed. Do it. Jog in the Tuilleries. It's perfect.

Have a great time in Paris.

Larry J

I jog in Paris and see joggers of all ages, shapes and sizes. No worries! And there's a bit of a thrill the first time you jog and exchange "bonjours" with your fellow joggers passing by.

I agree that you should go jogging. We have seen more joggers as years go by.

To heck with the fashion police! And try the Jardin du Luxembourg. You can do a lap or two with everyone else there and not feel out of place.

Thanks for the replies. I'm certainly not doing it to mark myself as an American or to meet other Americans. Last time I was in Paris, Aug. 2000, we tried to avoid other Americans!

If its hot can you get away with a colored jog bra or must you wear T-shirt over it?

IRA?!!!!! I am shocked! There are plenty of people in cindyj's situation who jog regularly. The picture of skinny joggers is a stereotype. Exercise is good for you, and I firmly believe will lower your chances for a heart attack! Cindyj, I am 47, not a supermodel myself, and jogged 10 miles to celebrate my last birthday. If you love to run, then you should run in Paris. I didn't do it when I last visited, but regretted not bringing by running stuff when I saw how beautiful the Luxemburg Gardens were, and saw all the other joggers there. (I would however wear a tshirt over my jogging bra.) Have a fun trip!

Definitely go jogging! I saw them this year like I'd never seen them before. Other places you might look at besides the Jardins des Tuileries and du Luxembourg (beautiful places to run, no doubt) are in the Jardin des Plantes, around the Place des Vosges, at the Hotel de Ville and on the quai of the Ile St-Louis where I saw plenty of joggers (there was a whole bevy of them in the Jardin des Plantes). In fact, I think that would be a nice run from Hotel de Ville through Place des Vosges to the Ile de la Cite! You can see the photos I took here:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/166168/

I've seen a lot of joggers in the Parc Monceau. It's really beautiful. Just think, with all these suggestions, you could start your day by jogging in a different part of Paris every morning.

Wow! I didn't expect my innocent little question to arise so much response, and a little contraversy!

OK, so I will wear a tee shirt! And, Ira and Starrsville, I can pull it off without looking "old" and will not have a heart attack. And, I will walk my legs off sightseeing the rest of the day and may even take a guided bicycle tour one day!)

I just asked because its quite a common sight here in the states. (Funny story though, I was in Quebec City a couple of years ago at a conference. Went jogging one morning from our hotel all through the old city. It got very warm and I wished I had dressed lighter. Spent the day and evening inside huge conference center connected to the hotel not going outside again once. The next morning decided to wear skimpy top. Out the hotel door only to find the temp had dropped at least 20 degrees, and this was August! I figured I would warm up so pressed on. That time I did look like a fool!)

I'll throw in another 2 cents here: I'm overweight but I do marathons. One of my friends does ultra marathons and people call him 'beefy.' so yes, the skinny runner of yesteryear is a myth. and, while it's true that running can cause problems for many people, there are still quite a few, like myself, who are made for running....I have never gotten injured from running, but I have gotten injured a few times getting out of bed! But I digress....

I think when traveling, unless you're headed for a bona fide tropical locale, a jog bra alone isn't a good idea (no matter how fit). throw a tank top over it!

There are many forms of exercise that are less damaging to the body than running or jogging. Try swimming, cycling, or even just a brisk walk. While jogging and running can provide useful cardiovascular exercise (for people in good health), they don't provide much else, and they can do a lot of damage over time.

>while it's true that running can cause problems for many people, there are still quite a few, like myself, who are made for running....<

However, the OP is jogging, not running.

nospam, every medical expert I've ever seen quoted would disagree. I googled and found this compilation of research -

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=6381

I can also google a bunch of medical experts who are convinced that the earth is flat, especially on the internet! My point is that if cindyj enjoys her morning jogging, has done it for a while without problems, and would like to continue to do this on vacation, more power to her. She most likely won't suffer a heart attack because she jogs while on her trip; she most likely won't blow out a knee or achilles tendon while on her trip; she wants to stay active. Being supportive is a good thing -- raising fears that she will DIE, or her BOOBS will sag, or that she is NOT ATTRACTIVE when she does an activity that she enjoys is NOT HELPFUL.

OK OK ira, I meant jogging....I use the terms "jogging" and "running" the same way. Sheesh.

Anyway, Cindy, I hope you found the answer you needed to what you were actually ASKING amidst the opinions on this thread! And like nospam says....bottom line, just go for it and good for you! Fewer than 10% of Americans exercise 3x a week or more....so if you're doing that, you are doing better than 90% of the country!

Woo-hoo! Go nospam! As an avid runner, I agree that it all depends on how well you care for yourself, as a runner (like whether you choose to run on grass or concrete, consistently or sporadically, what you eat, etc.). And as for the difference between running and jogging, I'm curious as to what some here perceive the difference to be. I consider myself a runner because I'm very dedicated to consistency in training and to racing occasionally. I think of a jogger as someone who does it more casually and less competitively. According to my definition, you would think a jogger would tend to have even less problems than a runner, but it sounds like the opposite is being said. Anyway, I love running in the places I visit...it is a memorable way to see the city at a time when it's just waking up. I don't think I can even explain the feeling it gives me to run in a city like Rome or Paris. It's like I take the city as my own when I run there.

The runner vs. jogger question is always so interesting! My husband also considers himself a runner -- he enjoys the cardiovascular benefits, does regular fartlek training (aka wind sprints), and endurance trains, too. He does not enter races as this is a personal thing for him. I also run, but see myself as more "recreational" runner -- 3-5 km regularly, at a slow pace. Some consider me a "jogger". Who knows! One of my best personal memories is running in Firenze early in the morning before the out-door markets set up and the traffic was insane. There is something fabulous about this...I hope cindyj runs in Paris. She will be so thrilled, proud of herself, and have a special memory of a great city in which she did something absolutely great...
Cheers!

Really? World is flat medical experts? I'd love that link!

By the way, ira is one of the gentlest souls on this board - and probably this planet.

My guess his response was more to the way the OP set up the question -

...somewhat overweight, almost-50 jogger... Is it safe?

My aunt still jogs/runs/whatever daily and she's in her 70's. I hope to never pass her if she runs in just a colored jog bra. There are some mental images one would prefer not to have stored in the gray matter.

The Fashion Police comments were intended as light-hearted and as a tag-on to frequent "what to wear" and "how not to look like an American" threads. Surely no one was offended by a reference to white trainers?

> MelissaHI
>OK OK ira, I meant jogging....I use the terms "jogging" and "running" the same way. Sheesh.<

Dear Harvey,
(I use the terms Melissa and Harvey the same way.)

Although many, if not most, folks think of jogging as merely running slowly, there are differences in the extension of the legs and the way in which the impact of landing is absorbed by the feet, ankles, shins, knees and hips.

You can feel that jogging (or running slowly, if you will) puts more stress on the body than running.

That's what the Kinesiology folks at the University told me, as recently as 2004.