Niche Travel

It seems a person can’t drive to the shops for a packet of biscuits anymore without having to pull over for posses of lycra-clad people, bottle in hand, buds in ears and hi-viz jacket turned up to full volume, just in case we missed them. Sometimes it seems the entire country is in training for something.

It was therefore only a matter of time before one of our hotels copped on to the fact that there’s a market in it, and one you don’t even need to kit out a fancy gym for. All you need do is give people a bottle of water and point them in the right direction.

That’s pretty much what the Ritz Carlton Powerscourt, in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, has done. Even though it does have a fancy gym, it has developed a map which will guide residents to various jogging (runners hate when you call it jogging) paths through the scenic estate and the village beyond.

The pocket-sized guides cover routes from 4km to 11km and ranging from easy to challenging, each of which has been tried and tested by a seasoned marathon runner.

Management has also set up a “water station” at the hotel entrance each morning with a supply of water, towels and fruit to ensure guests are prepared for their run. While staff will not be positioned along the route to hand out energy bars and encouragement, they will be on hand to direct you to their Gordon Ramsey restaurant afterwards to help replenish lost calories.

Or you could cheat, borrow one of the hotel’s complimentary bicycles and cycle the routes instead. You’d still get to wear lycra.

[ ritzcarlton.com/powerscourt ]