On the southern coast of Cyprus, about halfway between the airports of Paphos and Larnaca sits the city of Limassol. Probably more famous in running circles for the Limassol Marathon each year, it is also a lovely place for an early morning run as I found out.
Back during the pandemic, and we were all working from home, several interest groups were set up at work including a running club. Every couple of weeks we’d have a virtual catch up and discuss doing a group run when we could finally meet up. However, this had proven difficult to organise and the group had waned a bit.
A small subset of us had run together in Sharm el Sheikh when there on a trip last year but when it was announced that the whole company would be headed to Cyprus, planning for a group run went into play. Fortunately the bulk of us were staying at the Atlantica Miramare which is a perfect starting point for this run which I first saw on Great Runs.
https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2417135
Starting from our hotel it was straight down the road/flood relief path on to Dasoudi Beach and a very short stretch of sand just to get the legs working. However, before you even reach the Volleyball court, you pick up the Coastal Path which takes you round the court and past a small café into a slightly wooded area. You run about 1km through this park on a twisting, slightly undulating path with the sea always to your left before getting spat out at the end on to the main coastal road. You could choose to stay on the sands at this stage but we chose to go on the path and the adjacent cycle lane that was already full of other runners.
After about another 1km the path goes back into parks that even at 7am were full of people swimming, running or just enjoying an early coffee. As Limassol is a city that happens to have a beach rather than many of the holiday resorts I have run in the past, it was strange to see so many people out before work!
Although now in the park, the cycle lane is never more than a few metres away and as it got busier we did find ourselves using that rather than weave around everyone. Obviously one advantage of an out and back route is you can turn around at any point such as the pier at 3km where I took the below picture.
At 4km the park gets wider so you find yourself swinging left to stay close to the sea front the path here is now so much wider and you get a nice clean 1km all the way to the entrance to the Old Port and a turnaround point at almost exactly 5km. It’s then time to turn around and head back the way you just came.
Despite what the route profile shows on the earlier link, this is a really nice flat route that is easy to follow and is perfect for an early morning start. I ran on it every morning I was in Limassol, twice doing the full 10km and once turning early for a 6km loop. If you are staying in the area then get yourself down to the promenade and enjoy.
If you have done this route yourself, or have any questions, then please do leave a comment below!
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