>Taylor Lynn Chase is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Blaze Travel Guides, an electronic publisher of international running guides based in Boulder, Colorado. She has traveled to and researched the best places to go running on four continents and in over sixty of the world’s top travel destinations. You can find out more about Taylor and Blaze at www.blazetravelguides.org.

How did you get the running bug?
I became a runner at almost the exact same time that I became a traveler. When I was sixteen I decided to leave my home in Colorado to be an exchange student in France. But it wasn’t until after I arrived in France, and at my host family’s house, that I realized I couldn’t speak French, didn’t know anyone in France, and was thousands of miles away from my friends and my family. I was terrified that first morning – so scared that I couldn’t get out of bed – but then I had the idea to go for a run. I thought running would be a good excuse to get out of my new house and check out the neighborhood. So somehow, in broken French, I explained to my host mother what I intended to do. She drew me a little map of the area, and I hit the road. I went out, jogged up a hill, and suddenly descended upon the most stunning vista I had ever seen. Peaceful green pastures, full of sheep and livestock, descended gently down the hill in front of me. Just beyond them the French Alps dominated the horizon, and were glowing pink in the early morning light. I had to stop to catch my breath at that moment. I’ve never felt so awed, overcome, humbled, and inspired as I did just then, and it was running and traveling that gave me the gift of that sensation. I think there’s still a part of me today that, every time I travel and I run, is attempting to capture that feeling again.

What has been your favorite run / race so far?
I’m more of a zen runner than a competitor, so don’t race a lot. I was lucky enough to participate in this past years Marathon Alpes-Maritimes, and I’ve got to give a shout out to my hometown Bolder Boulder run. But interestingly enough, I think my favorite race experience was pacing my friend for 20 miles of the Race Across The Sky Leadville Trail 100 this summer. I still can’t quite describe the thrill surrounding this magically epic event, or the mystery that comes from a Rocky Mountain midnight trail run. And it’s kind of funny that my favorite race experience comes from a race that I wasn’t competing in. But ultramarathons are really about something deeper, I think, than competition.

What race would you like to run?
I’ve heard that Comrades in South Africa is one of the most unforgettable racing experiences to be had. I love participating in events that are not only a matter of running, but also a matter of culture and national pride, and Comrades fits the definition of that for sure!

City roads or remote trail?
Oooh, tough decision. At Blaze our goal is to research, write up, map, and publish running routes that will be easily accessible for travelers visiting a given city, so I spend a long time on city roads in places all around the world. At the same time, when I’m homesick, I dream of the trails just above Boulder. I’ve found, however, that a transformative running experience can be had on either territory. And it’s that transformation, that adventure and wonder, that I seek, and I think we all crave, in our runs and in our lives.

Crowded major events or quiet local ones?
See above. I’ve done both, and love both in their different ways, but it’s that experience that is the clincher for either category.

One more reason to go running?
If you are a regular runner, running is probably something that is very familiar, and close to home. If you go running while you travel, the familiarity of the activity combined with the foreignness of the location somehow combine to make that place more familiar, and bring it closer to your heart. It’s rare to feel indifferent about a place that you have run, especially if you have run it in the spirit of openness and discovery. It is the act of creating those connections, making the foreign become familiar, that help make the world a better place.

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