在伦敦旅行时 去哪里跑步和健身

Taking one’s fitness regimen on the road is a must for many travelers, and London, with its parks and attractions, certainly seems just the place to take off on a five- or 10-mile run while enjoying views of, say, the Houses of Parliament or St. Paul’s Cathedral.

许多人在旅行期间仍不忘健身，而在拥有众多公园和景点的伦敦，似乎更应该跑上五英里或十英里，同时欣赏沿途的风景，比如威斯敏斯特宫或圣保罗大教堂。

That’s the beauty of running for fitness, isn’t it? Anywhere, anytime. In London, though, it turns out it’s not quite that easy.

这就是跑步健身的妙处，不是吗？随时随地都可以进行。不过在伦敦，跑步实际上没那么容易。

Imagine Times Square on a weekend night with its milling throngs. Now transport all those people to London’s narrow sidewalks (some only four feet wide), and try running through that.

想象一下周末的夜晚，纽约时报广场上如织的人群。现在把这些人全部放在伦敦狭窄的人行道（有些只有四英尺宽）上，然后在人群中跑步。

And the pedestrians have nothing on the overall traffic pattern: terrifying double-decker buses, which, at 36-plus feet long, 8-plus feet wide and 14-plus feet tall, have no margin of error; streams of bicyclists; intense and unfamiliar left-hand traffic; short blocks and long lights.

比行人更麻烦的，是整体的交通状况：可怕的双层巴士——长度超过36英尺，宽度超过8英尺，高度逾14英尺，路线不容更改；川流不息的自行车流；让人很不习惯的靠左行驶的密集车辆；短短的街区和漫长的红绿灯。

Forget focusing on your cadence and stride length. The focus needs to be on survival, with the help of what became my mantra on a recent trip: Look to the right, look to the right, look to the right.

别指望能关注跑步的节奏和步伐。你需要注意安全。一个颇有助益的口诀是：向右看，向右看，向右看。这已经成了我最近的旅行中的咒语。

Here are a few tips for running, and some suggestions for indoor exercise options if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

以下是几条跑步建议，如果天公不作美的话，我这里还推荐了几家室内健身场所。

Scenic Jogging: Where and When

在景区跑步：如何选择时间和地点

One of the most scenic runs is along the Thames, especially along the South Bank. But you’ll have to be an early riser, said Alex Butler, a Washington, D.C., marathoner who travels to London frequently.

一处风景绝佳的跑步地点是沿着泰晤士河，尤其是沿着南岸。但你必须早起，经常来伦敦的华盛顿马拉松运动员亚历克斯·巴特勒(Alex Butler)说。

“When I run along the Thames, I try to be back by 8 a.m.,” said Mr. Butler, adding that many of the runners he sees in the South Bank at that hour are locals who commute by jogging, carrying backpacks with office gear and clothing. “It’s important to be out early before the tourists arrive,” he said.

“我沿着泰晤士河跑步的时候，都尽量在早上8点前返回，”巴特勒说。他还表示，那个时间段他在南岸看到的跑步者，很多是用慢跑代替通勤的当地人，在背包里装着办公用品和衣服。“一定要在游客到来之前早早出门，”他说。

Indeed, the South Bank and Southwark are home to many a tourist attraction — the London Eye, Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe. Queen’s Walk (the uninterrupted-by-traffic-lights promenade right next to the river and Mr. Butler’s preferred running path) offers some of the most majestic views of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to the west as well as the Tower of London and Tower Bridge to the east. So get there early.

的确，南岸和萨瑟克汇聚了诸多景点——伦敦眼、泰特现代艺术馆，还有莎士比亚环球剧院。在皇后步道（泰晤士河畔的步行街，没有交通信号灯打断，是巴特勒十分喜欢的跑步路线），可以欣赏到一些非常壮丽的景观，如西侧的威斯敏斯特宫和大本钟，以及东侧的伦敦塔和塔桥。所以一定要早到。

If early morning doesn’t work for you, parks are your best bet just about anytime (but some parks close in the evening).

如果你不能早起，那么公园将是你最好的选择，在任何时间都可以去（不过有些公园晚上闭园）。

I was staying in the King’s Cross area, so I had to figure out how to get to Regent’s Park, the closest park of decent size. As it turns out, one way there offers a nice run itself. The Regent’s Canal towpath is traffic-free (except for bikes), almost 10 miles long and an excellent way to experience London off the beaten tourist path.

我当时住在国王十字区。我必须搞清楚如何抵达摄政公园，因为那是离我最近的大公园。实际上，去摄政公园的路上就很适合跑步。摄政运河的纤道上没有车辆（除了自行车），差不多10英里长，是在传统旅游线路之外感受伦敦的绝佳路径。

There is a “but.” It’s not always easy to follow the path, which in one spot (Islington) disappears into a tunnel requiring the out-of-town runner to navigate the streets until the path picks up a mile down the road. Of course, I got lost.

但有一个问题。要保持在这条路上不太容易。因为路会在一个地点（伊斯灵顿）消失，由隧道取代，外地的跑步者必须穿越另外几条街道，直到一英里之后这条路重新出现。当然，我迷路了。

It turned out, though, that getting lost was a happy mistake, as I found the excellent Yogahaven (more on that later) and the highly informative London Canal Museum. Did you know that in 1890s London, there were 300,000 horses, some of which helped deliver giant blocks of ice for refrigeration and ice cream -making?

但实际上，这次迷路成了一次愉快的犯错经历，因为我发现了Yogahaven（下文将详细介绍），以及让人大开眼界的伦敦运河博物馆。你知道吗，在1890年代的伦敦，曾有30万匹马负责运输制冷和制作冰激凌所需的巨大冰块。

Regent’s Park, which is full of jog-friendly paths surrounded by greenery and gardens, has a perimeter just short of three miles. The surface is asphalt. If you want to add a little more distance and steep elevation, continue into Primrose Hill Park to the north of Regent’s Park. In fact, Primrose Hill at 250-plus feet above sea level offers a panoramic view of London, and a plaque with a lovely William Blake quote: “I have conversed with the spiritual Sun. I saw him on Primrose Hill.”

摄政公园里到处都是适宜跑步的小路，它们被青葱的草木和园林所环绕，周长接近三英里。路面铺的是天然沥青。如果你想要增加一点距离和坡度，那就接着跑到摄政公园北边的樱草花山公园。实际上，在海拔250多英尺的樱草花山上可以饱览伦敦全景，公园的一块牌匾上写着威廉·布莱克(William Blake)的美丽诗句，“我曾与太阳之神交谈。我看见他在樱草花山上。”

Another good place to run: expansive Hyde Park, which is adjacent to Kensington Gardens to the west, and Green Park and St. James to the east. You’re certain to encounter a fair number of tourists given the park’s proximity to Buckingham Palace. Still, it’s big enough to avoid zigzag running and “sorrys,” and you can string together more than seven miles without repeating stretches.

另一个跑步的好去处：宽敞开阔的海德公园，这里西邻肯辛顿公园，东临绿园和圣詹姆斯公园。由于离白金汉宫很近，你肯定会遇到相当多游客。不过，海德公园仍然足够大，不至于总是拐来拐去或撞到别人，可以不重复地跑出超过七英里的路线。

Rainy Weather Options

雨天的选择

If the weather is poor, there are many ace indoor options, such asYogahaven () in Islington, where drop-in classes cost 16, or $23.30 at $1.50 to the pound. There I happened upon an amazing hotyoga class with Adam Husler who teaches all over London.

如果天气不佳，还有许多一流的室内健身场所可供选择，比如伊斯灵顿的Yogahaven（），在这里临时上一节课的费用是16英镑，即23.30美元左右。我当时赶上了一节很棒的高温瑜珈课，教练是亚当·胡斯勒(Adam Husler)，他在伦敦的很多地点授课。

“Four out of five people who live or work in central London have probably taken a yoga class of some form,” Mr. Husler said. In addition to Yogahaven, he points to Indaba (; 12 to 16 per drop-in class) and triyoga (; four London locations offer several dozen classes daily of Pilates and yoga; 16 per drop-in class) as being among the biggest studios in the city and the ones most likely to have international guest teachers.

“在伦敦中心生活或工作的人，有80%的人参加了某种瑜伽课，”胡斯勒说。除了Yogahaven，他还提到了Indaba（；单节课的价格是12英镑到16英镑）和triyoga（；在伦敦的四个地点开课，每天提供数十节普拉提和瑜伽课程；临时上一节课的价格是16英镑），说它们属于伦敦规模较大的瑜伽工作室，最有可能请到外国客座教练。

At Indaba — a four-floor studio in Marylebone that offers at least a dozen classes a day of different styles and levels — I attended a 90-minute Yogasana — Experienced class at 10:30 a.m. on a Thursday. It was packed with at least 50 mostly 20-something dancer-types who made difficult arm-balancing positions look as accessible as a child’s pose. One of the most memorable parts of the experience was when the wiry, dreadlocked instructor, Stewart Gilchrist, played the Clash’s “London Calling” right before closing meditation.

Indaba是位于马里波恩的一间瑜伽工作室，总共四层，每天至少提供12节不同类型和难度的瑜伽课。一个星期四的上午10点30分，我参加了一节90分钟的Yogasana高级班课程。教室里有至少50位20多岁的学员，他们颇有舞者风范，把难度极大的手臂平衡姿势做得似乎易如反掌。这次体验的最难忘部分是，精瘦结实、梳着长发绺的教练斯图尔特·吉尔克里斯特(Stewart Gilchrist)，在冥想结束前播放了冲撞乐队(Clash)的“伦敦呼唤”(London Calling)。

If spin classes are your exercise of choice, the big dogs in town are Psycle and Boom Cycle — with two center-city locations each. I tried a 45-minute Boom Cycle class (; drop-in 16 per ride). With its emphasis on music and choreography over effort and athleticism, the bubbly instructor felt more like a cheerleader than a coach. Nevertheless, the dark, sweaty room was packed and the minutes flew by.

如果你的运动项目是动感单车，可以考虑去Psycle或是Boom Cycle，它们在市中心都各开了两家店。我在Boom Cycle（；临时上一节课的价格是16英镑）上了一节45分钟的动感单车课。这里更重视音乐和编舞，而不是力量和耐力，热情奔放的教练感觉更像是拉拉队长，而不是教练。灯光昏暗、热火朝天的健身教室里人满为患，时间过得飞快。

Its competitor, Psycle (; 20 per drop-in class), features 45- to 90-minute sessions, and is also known for its music-driven classes.

另一家是Psycle（，临时上一节课的价格是20英镑），有45分钟和90分钟两种课时可供选择，也是以音乐主导的课程著称。

Or you can just forget about the yoga and cycling and take an early morning run — rain or no rain — along the misty Thames.

或者，干脆忘掉瑜伽和单车，去晨跑吧，无论下不下雨，就沿着薄雾笼罩的泰晤士河。