By San Diego Guide and Chicago Manager Chelsey Stone
One thing that often comes up when talking with guides across the country (from San Francisco to NYC) is how much we love leading personalized tours. City Fit Tours offers at least one standard 5k route in each city every day of the week, but for personalized tours, the client determines the distance and location, which lends itself to a rare opportunity for a guide to showcase different parts of their city.
I took Elise and her husband Troy on a tour of Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, 10 miles from the start of our Chicago Highlights route downtown. I lived in the nearby Uptown neighborhood and couldn't have been more excited to share the history of my local landmarks.
Having heard plenty from our guides, it’s time to hear from a client about their experience booking and running a personalized tour.
Elise in Brooklyn on our tour while visiting NYC. (Click the right image to see more.)
This was not Elise’s first rodeo
The first time she ran with City Fit Tours was in Seattle in 2015. “I went to Seattle by myself, I was only a couple years out of college. I felt I should go on an adult vacation, but friends were not able to join. So I was like, I guess I'm gonna go by myself somewhere. And I wanted to incorporate running into the trip. I was originally thinking about doing a 5k and then stumbled across running tours.” A few years later Elise ran with us in New York City. “My friend and I were staying in Brooklyn. I got to know that part of New York. Then I ended up doing a Boston one spring of 2022.” Between these she also did one in Washington, D.C. in 2019.
Elise on our DC tour August of 2019.
Any similarities among all the cities you’ve run?
“How knowledgeable the guides have been, including yourself, and the information feels ingrained but not boring. I think of someone in Florida giving a boat tour 10 times a day—that would get boring—so it's nice to have guides who are really knowledgeable but haven't lost energy with the information.”
“I enjoy hearing how running is incorporated in each guide’s life, whether they're a parent or student or starting a new job or transplanted or been in that city for a long time.”
“Usually I get to hear a story or two about another client. When I was in Boston, the tour guide was talking about how she's run with a flight attendant and then she's run with an Olympian who just needed to log these miles. The flexibility [of what City Fit Tours can accommodate] is impressive.”
Troy and Elise on our tour of Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood included the edge of the nearby Edgewater neighborhood.
After so many standard tours, why choose a personalized run in Chicago?
“My aunt and uncle have lived in Rogers Park most of my life. It hit me that I've visited family in Rogers Park for years, and I've spent very little time in the neighborhood. I came back [from the tour] with some facts I don't think they knew, or they said, ‘oh, yeah, that makes sense,’ but just had never played tour guide in that area.”
a great alternative when your destination doesn’t have a race during your stay
“It's a nice option for people that feel they're getting exercise in and sightseeing but not having the pressure of needing to train. It seems the runs are designed where the pace is set by the slower members. That's more inviting.”
Running with City Fit Tours instead of a race is also “less logistically complicated. You don't have to pick up your bib and wait for [the race] to start and then do it and then be at the finish line and get to your parking spot.” While Elise has traveled for a few races before, she said, “I'm not usually looking to put that stress on myself.”
Elise with Mala joining our Zoom.
puppy love
Elise and Troy’s dog came up on our run and made her presence known on our Zoom. “She thinks running involves sprinting and then dragging behind me, so that's her form of running. She doesn't quite understand pacing.”
And the name Mala?
“Troy picked her name because when he adopted her, her name was Miranda. Which she didn't really respond to because it was too complicated, three syllables. But he wanted to keep the “m”. And he likes the Lion King. So Nala but also Mala because it means bad in Spanish.” And she certainly can be a little mischievous.
Consider a personalized tour on your next visit
The next time you are in one of our cities, a personalized tour is a great option for those who want to see beyond a city’s typical highlights. Learn more on our website.
