Training for the NYC marathon while in DR.

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Marquito

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Aug 15, 2012
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Hola,

I will be down in DR. this September during the important stages of my training for the NYC Marathon. I will be staying in the Cabarete, Sosua area. I have been to this part of the island many times in the last two years. So am somewhat familiar with the area. However don't really feel like running along side the main road all the time. Can anyone give me some advice on which routes are good to put in some real miles? Also maybe there is a running group or some individuals who I can run with? I will need some help keeping motivated and it also helps to have someone to put the miles in with. Well any information will be appreciated. Thank you.
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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I would go to Constanza and train with the troops at the airport. They will run with you. I doubt that you will find any runners (except drug runners) in that area....

Sorry to be a bit negative. If you really want to train, and You have to be in that area, go up into the mountains by Jamao and run back...

You are more likely to find distance runners in Puerto Plata, Santiago or La Vega (and Santo Domingo, of course)


HB
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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Mike, that is great but he is going to be in Cabarete!! a loooong way away from Las Terrenas...he wants running partners and he does not want to run on the highway (Gee, I wonder why? Maybe he wants to survive his stay here???)

HB
 
caribmike

caribmike

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Jul 9, 2009
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Ooops, I was so focused on running that I overlooked the location... at least I did not come up w/ some spot in PC ;)
Hillbilly said:
Mike, that is great but he is going to be in Cabarete!! a loooong way away from Las Terrenas...he wants running partners and he does not want to run on the highway (Gee, I wonder why? Maybe he wants to survive his stay here???)

HB
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S

sayanora

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Feb 22, 2012
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The problem with cabarete is just one long highway where people drive way too fast, I would go down to kite beach or something and run back and playa escondido and just run from the highway to the beach, prolly about 2miles or so each way.. Just do it 13 times and you're good to go, the fresh air and nice breeze will make for a decent run. I really wish there was a boardwalk in cabarete like in Miami Beach. Like an oversized sidewalk right next to the beach, makes no sense nobody has put this into the works.. they are great for businesses, tourism, people like this guy who want to run, bikers, everything.
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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He could probably run up and down the Choco road a few times. Maybe running to Sos?a and back (going against traffic), but I certainly agree that somewhere off of the beaten path would be best for him...which is why I suggested getting a ride up to Jamao and running back...and there are some little paths back there but again safety (turned ankle on a rock or a slippery muddy road, you know?) It will take some doing but it can be done.

And, of course, there is always Constanza!!! He can run up and down that runway all day with the Special Forces troops...


HB
 
M

Marquito

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Aug 15, 2012
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I have run in the mountains before starting from San Marco and running towards the top or along the river. Either way it seems like I will have to find a new path to get in a good run. Otra vez, gracias por tu ayuda.
 
C

Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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Santiago
Also an option could be starting at the coastal highway and the Carr. Turistica to Santiago and running 7 or so miles and then returning before it gets too hilly. There is little traffic too.
 
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sayanora

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Feb 22, 2012
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Chip said:
Also an option could be starting at the coastal highway and the Carr. Turistica to Santiago and running 7 or so miles and then returning before it gets too hilly. There is little traffic too.
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Umm.. where is the carr. turistica to santiago.. i've been driving down to montellano towards puerto plata and taking the mountain route to santiago but it was horrible.. i ended up taking the highway back thru puerto plata to get back to cabarete.. I couldn't find the signs for annother carr. in sosua.
 
C

Chip

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Santiago
sayanora said:
Umm.. where is the carr. turistica to santiago.. i've been driving down to montellano towards puerto plata and taking the mountain route to santiago but it was horrible.. i ended up taking the highway back thru puerto plata to get back to cabarete.. I couldn't find the signs for annother carr. in sosua.
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The entrance to the Carr. Turistica is between PP and a small pueblo called El Cangrejo. It's not in very good shape but passable in a suv if you aren't in too much of a hurry.
 
W

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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sayanora said:
Umm.. where is the carr. turistica to santiago.. i've been driving down to montellano towards puerto plata and taking the mountain route to santiago but it was horrible.. i ended up taking the highway back thru puerto plata to get back to cabarete.. I couldn't find the signs for annother carr. in sosua.
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That road is just west of Montellano on the way to Puerto Plata. These should be the Google Earth Coordinates for the entrance of that road from the main highway.

19?43'12.36"N 70?37'11.56"W

The road is very scenic, but reportedly not in good shape for car traffic at this time because of washouts.
 
S

SKY

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Apr 11, 2004
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I would strongly advise against running on this road. There is not a lot of traffic, but the road is narrow with tons of pot holes and some small pick up trucks use it. They are all over the road to avoid the pot holes and drive like a moto concho would. Not to mention there are plenty of those idiots there also.
 
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Chip

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SKY said:
I would strongly advise against running on this road. There is not a lot of traffic, but the road is narrow with tons of pot holes and some small pick up trucks use it. They are all over the road to avoid the pot holes and drive like a moto concho would. Not to mention there are plenty of those idiots there also.
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On the contrary I see it is positive that this road has potholes as it keeps the vehicle velocities much slower and greatly reduces the amount of traffic as well. Since Dominicans are already very aware of pedestrians and slower moving vehicles I doubt a runner would have any issues on this road. Just my two cents.
 
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SKY

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Chip said:
On the contrary I see it is positive that this road has potholes as it keeps the vehicle velocities much slower and greatly reduces the amount of traffic as well. Since Dominicans are already very aware of pedestrians and slower moving vehicles I doubt a runner would have any issues on this road. Just my two cents.
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The problem with this is that when you are avoiding pot holes you are looking down in front of you, not up and you may never see the runner. Plus the runner cannot count on the cars staying on the right side of the road. For me I would not chance it.
 
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Chip

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SKY said:
The problem with this is that when you are avoiding pot holes you are looking down in front of you, not up and you may never see the runner. Plus the runner cannot count on the cars staying on the right side of the road. For me I would not chance it.
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No offense but dealing with potholes is a way of life for anyone driving here in the DR and in my thousands of miles here and many years all over this island I have seen very few accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians. In fact all of the accidents were because of people travelling too fast - which will not happen on a lot of areas of the Carr. Turistica because of the potholes.
 
B

Berzin

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Nov 17, 2004
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Marquito-forget it. Running a few miles is challenging enough in that area. Training for a marathon may well be impossible unless you are willing to travel daily.

Besides, you've left out some important details, like what type of mileage you're looking at doing. At this particular stage in September, with the marathon on October 4th, will you be tapering down your mileage? If so, you may be able to get some runs on the beach, but that gets monotonous after a few days.

And I would never recommend running in either direction on the main road between Sosua and Cabarete.
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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I am going to go out on a limb and say: "Forget the beach and come to Santiago, train at Pucmm where there is a track and a 2.2 km roadway with active runners and walkers morning and evening. It is safe and a good workout."

There!

If you need beaches, there are buses to Sos?a...

If you want to train.


HB
 
D

DRinvestor785

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Dec 13, 2009
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Try the El Choco road. Just west of Coastal Gas station between Sosua and Cabarete. Good scenery, hills, not too busy.
 
K

Kyle

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Jun 2, 2006
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i find it very unusual that you would go to the DR to train for a 26 mile marathon. as a fellow runner (10k/20k), i would stay away from any roads around sosua or caberete. i just run laps on the beach or if i do run on the roads it's early in the morning before the major traffic gets going. the last thing you need is to get hit by a car or twist something on a pothole-laden road.
i would agree with running on the runway with the troops.
 
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