Running in El Retiro Park
What better way of starting up this blog than with a tribute to Madrid’s most emblematic space: El Retiro Park.
I remember my first runs through this park when I was taking my first steps as a professional basketball player, when I did my pre-season training there. At 8 in the morning, from our meeting spot at O’Donnell Gate, doing lap after lap around the perimeter path…
I’ve always been surprised by the huge variety of people who choose this place to practise sport, from highly trained athletes to veteran runners, novices, runners with dogs, groups of friends, etc. Everyone sharing a common love of sport, and in this case, running, which blows away the cobwebs and helps us face everyday life with a much more positive and friendly attitude.
I’m currently training in a gym on Calle Abascal, and from there I’ve mapped myself a route of around 9km that takes me along Castellana up to Plaza Colón, which I run through before crossing the end of the smart part of Calle Serrano that leads to my chosen destination, the wonderful El Retiro Park.
This magical place always gives visitors a fresh experience and in my case, through my sport it manages to make me happy every time I set foot in it. So, I’d like to encourage you all to find a route that leads you to El Retiro Park, and once you’re there, just enjoy it.
Discover Madrid on the run!
José Miguel Antúnez