Touring on the run

myCity Running Tours (www.mycityrunningtours.com) was launched in August 2009 by entrepreneurs Steve Porter and Ant Pascoe, who have tasted success previously with initiatives like satirical website Hayibo.com and sports news agency Sunday Media.

"I wish I could say we came up with the Running Tours concept," said Porter, who acknowledged the Cape Town venture was based on successful businesses already running in places like New York, London, Brisbane, Jerusalem and Dublin.

A simple model

"It's a simple model, which is why it works so well," he added. "We know and love our city and we have a passion for running. We want to share Cape Town with other runners who might not want to go running alone."

While the routes are designed to take in as many sites as possible, the details of the run are very much dictated by the visitors.

"The distance and pace are determined by the customers, not the guides," said Porter, who said myCity Running Tours had the ability to cater for all needs. "Our guides run with backpacks to carry water and other essentials. We want to make it as easy as possible for guests. And we can tailor runs to suit individual needs from 5km to marathon."

Routes

Routes available include several trail runs on Table Mountain, coastal runs and a couple through the Cape Town CBD and surrounds.

myCity Running Tours caters for energetic tourists, time-pressed businesspeople who want to see as much as possible in as short a space of time as possible, holidaying athletes or locals who don't want to run by themselves.

"Trail running by yourself is not always a good idea, and we have had strong interest from local ladies who want a running companion when venturing out on the mountains. It is really catching on," said Porter.

For more information, go to www.mycityrunningtours.com.