Every year thousands of people head to the beautiful resort of Side near Antalya in Turkiye. Fortunately, my work took me there a couple of years ago and the first thing in my bag as usual was my trainers so I could go for a run.
Luckily, like I have often discovered when running in Turkey, quite a few Turkish resorts have great promenades and Side is no exception. It might not be quite as long as somewhere like Marmaris at 3km end to end but it provided a perfect base for my route planning. However, Side is also famous for its ancient ruins and I wanted to incorporate these in to my route which led me to this beautiful looped route of just over 6km, perfect for an early morning start.
I was staying at the Paloma Perissia which is helpfully at the very start (or end depending on perspective) of the promenade. Therefore to start it was simply a case of heading along the promenade towards the old part of Side. It was late May when I visited so temperatures were going to rise so I was out by 8:30, a little later than I normally run overseas but given I hadn’t got to the hotel until 2am, I needed some sleep!
The promenade itself is a nice wide and flat stretch of concrete that takes you nicely along the beach. At that time in the morning a few sunbathers were starting to appear but there were also a few others getting some early morning steps in before the temperature rose. Having started at one end I was able to get a good 3km in to start.
At this stage the promenade does continue round to the Marina but it can also be used by cars so take care. However, I wanted to see some of the ruins so took the left turn up the hill. Its not a big hill but as you can see from the elevation chart below, it’s a sharp peak.
You now find yourselves among the ancient ruins. I could have probably spent more time here but knowing I needed to get back, showered and meet my colleagues, I took the first left as you can see on the route map here:
https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2263403?units=km
I followed the road round and down towards the left until I reached Sarmaşik Sk. which offered a direct road back to the seafront. I had scoped Google streetview before leaving to make sure I got the correct turn else you would start heading back towards the centre of Side. From here it was just back along the promenade, that was already basked in more sun and was warmer than when I started, back to the hotel. All in it was a lovely run which gave the chance to see the sights that otherwise my full diary would not have allowed.
If you have done this route yourself, or have any questions, then please do leave a comment below!
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