CITY RUNS: BRIGHTON

In this edition of “City Runs” I made the most of the glorious British bank holiday weather and headed down to sunny Brighton for the day. Brighton is such a great option for a City run because it literally has so many different types of environment to exercise in. Whether you want, beach, city, or greenery there is something here for you. In this blog I’ll take you through my day in Brighton and where the best spots are to get your exercise fix. 

For those of you who are new to my “City Runs” series, I visit different cities at home and abroad, giving some recommendations for the best places to run and keep fit. Hopefully this will inspire you to get you outside and give you a great active experience in that city, should you ever choose to visit.

The Run 
As soon as I saw the sun I knew exactly where to start my run…BEACH. With the beach walkways bustling full of people, it had to be a run on the beach itself which for some may be a little more difficult than what you’re used to due to added resistance of running on the rocky beach. However, this added resistance will push and give you a good test.

After I ran along the beach I got to the pier and had to head up there just for the view, so I took a quick few lengths of it while trying to stay focused and not succumb to the smells of deep fried donuts and chips. If you come to Brighton you need to visit the pier.

To finish off the run I made my way into town and headed for “The Pavillion”, a building with gardens that I had been told, was lovely. I could not have been more surprised when I arrived there. It’s like a mini Taj Mahal! Slap bang in the middle of Brighton with a Wetherspoons no more than 100m away is this gorgeous building with lots of greenery surrounding it. I felt like I’d run in to Raj world (Westworld reference). It was built for the Prince regent in the 1700’s and made into Indian architecture in line with that in India (a British colony at the time). It is certainly a great place to run through thats for sure.

Alternative Run 
If you’d prefer not to run through the City centre or a busy beach, try Preston park which although won’t give you as much pleasure to look at as it’s just a park, may give you more of a relaxed run with peace and quiet.

What To Wear
Yet again, I wore a pair of Adidas Ultraboost trainers. I opted for the Ultraboost Uncaged on this run. Check out my last two City Runs (London and Ljubljana) to see how much I love the Ultraboosts that I have where I talk about them in more depth. Get yourself a pair, trust me. 

On my body I wore an “Adidas Originals skateboarding warp camo tee”, quite the mouthful, I know but it was something a little different in design terms and also kept me super comfortable and cool during the blistering heat. I know the camo design may divide opinions, but with the black and grey colourway I think it really works. I paired this with a pair of black New Look shorts that I featured in my Price Point blog, so check that out if you want to see a more in depth few of them. ​

Other Essentials
Music
I recently saw Deadpool 2 (blog post pending) and the soundtrack as a whole was great, however one song was insanely good. Welcome To The Party with French Montana & Lil Pump by Diplo is just the perfect song to run to or work out in general. Powerful with a strong beat fast enough to push yourself to and the sort of vibe that makes you feel a little cooler than you actually are whilst your listening to it - just the vibe I like.

Apps
Spotify – All my song recommendations can be streamed using Spotify and downloaded to use offline if you don’t want to use your data. As I stated in my last City Runs post, Spotify is my music streaming service app of choice.

Apple health – tracking distance and steps, Apple gives you your days adventures compiled into an easy to understand visual display allowing you to track your progress from run to run.

Google Maps – With Google maps I found it so easy to get around the city. I don’t need to give you a big explanation on it as I’m sure you know how it works. If you don’t have it, get it. I always find it smoother and easier to use that Apple’s own Maps app.

Brighton City Run - Perfect for Students
With Brighton being a place bustling with university students from both Brighton and Sussex University, I thought I would talk about why City Runs and keeping fit in general is so important for students.

I’ve been there, it is so easy to fall into a routine while studying of being lazy and watching Netflix, you’ve just finished studying for the day and all you fancy doing is curling up and watching TV with a big fat pizza or going out and having a few too many drinks and coming home worse for wear. However, going out and doing a City Run in Brighton is the perfect solution for that post study/spare time feeling. Exercise is proven to relax the mind and lead to decreased stress levels, perfect for taking your mind off of exam or dissertation pressure leaving you refreshed for whatever you choose to do for the rest of the day. In addition to the mental benefits or the City Run, there are the physical ones too, It’ll help you lose that beer belly your mates keep teasing you about or maintain your weight as well improving respiratory (breathing) and cardiovascular (heart) health. I’m not saying cut out the laziness from your student life, but how much better would you feel not feeling guilty for getting that take away because you’ve already been for a run earlier?

​Here’s the reason that most students will actually choose to go for a City Run - money. It’s free. If you’re student loan barely covers your rent - like most, then surely a free way to work out is a god send? Get outside and take in the sights, Brighton is a place for all preferences (in more ways than one) there is somewhere here that you will enjoy working out in, for free, that will allow you to reap all the health benefits you need. ​

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the blog. Any feedback is appreciated. 

Here's my Instagram handle to keep up with all my latest posts: @matt_tapley 

​Disclaimer: Although part of this blog post is a paid collaboration, all views, opinions and experiences are my own.