The British summer holiday, once a sacred ritual of airport lager, questionable flip-flops and a paperback thick enough to stun a gull, is quietly developing a faster stride. More travellers are packing running shoes alongside SPF 50, and new research from British heritage running brand Ronhill suggests Santorini has become Europe’s standout destination for the modern runcation.
The Great British Holiday Has Found Its Trainers
For decades, the national idea of going away involved doing as little as possible while looking faintly sunburnt and calling it recovery. Now, a growing tribe of fitness-minded travellers would rather greet the morning with a coastal climb than a continental buffet skirmish.
Searches for “workout holidays” have risen by 43% in the past year, according to the data supplied, while sports tourism now represents around 10% of worldwide tourism spend. The sector is also projected to expand by 17.5% between 2023 and 2030, helped by the popularity of mass participation events and the swelling number of people who see exercise not as punishment, but as punctuation.
With 6.5 million people in the UK running regularly, the audience for active travel has moved far beyond the obsessives with carbon-plated shoes and spreadsheets for heart-rate drift. Plenty of ordinary runners now want a route worth remembering, a view worth climbing for, and preferably a coffee within stumbling distance at the end.
Santorini Tops The Runcation Table
Ronhill analysed ONS data on popular holiday destinations for Brits alongside AllTrails trail completion data in key tourism areas. The result: Santorini leads the way.
The island’s headline route is the Imerovigli to Oia trail, which has logged 1,266 AllTrails route completions and carries a 4.8/5 rating. It is not hard to see the appeal. The 8.7km route follows Santorini’s caldera edge, with the Aegean doing its full theatrical blue routine below and Oia waiting at the finish like a postcard that has slightly overprepared for its close-up.
It is a run with proper holiday theatre. Whitewashed villages. Volcanic cliffs. Sea light bouncing around like it has been given a performance bonus. Also, just enough climbing to make breakfast feel morally deserved.
Europe’s Standout Holiday Running Routes
Runcation Guide
Santorini Tops Europe’s Summer Holiday Running Hotlist
The humble beach break has found its trainers. New Ronhill data reveals Santorini as Europe’s leading runcation destination, with clifftop trails, Aegean views and just enough uphill suffering to make breakfast feel earned.
Santorini may have taken top spot, but the wider picture shows how strongly European running holidays are beginning to shape travel choices.
In Greece, the leading routes are all on Santorini:
- Imerovigli – Oia, Santorini: 1,266 AllTrails route logs, 4.8/5 rating
- Fira – Imerovigli – Skaros Rock, Santorini: 679 logs, 4.7/5 rating
- Mouzakia – Mavro Vouno Hill – Oia, Santorini: 257 logs, 4.6/5 rating
France offers its own polished version of punishment with scenery. The standout run is the Coastal Path from Nice to Villefranche-sur-Mer, a 6.3km clifftop route along the Côte d’Azur with 1,234 AllTrails logs and a 4.6/5 rating. The route gives runners the Mediterranean on one side and the quiet sense that everyone else is better dressed on the other.
France’s top routes include:
- Coastal Path: Nice – Villefranche-sur-Mer, Côte d’Azur: 1,234 logs, 4.6/5 rating
- Mont Boron – Mont Alban, Nice: 359 logs, 4.7/5 rating
- Promenade des Anglais, Nice: 344 logs, 4.6/5 rating
Spain’s strongest entry comes from Barcelona, where Mount Tibidabo has logged 829 completions and carries a 4.5/5 rating. The 4.2km moderate trail climbs to the city’s highest point at 512 metres, with views stretching towards the Mediterranean. It is short enough to tempt the ambitious and steep enough to remind them that tapas was invented for a reason.
Spain’s leading routes are:
- Mount Tibidabo, Barcelona: 829 logs, 4.5/5 rating
- La Merced Square – Gibralfaro, Málaga / Costa del Sol: 392 logs, 4.6/5 rating
- Marbella – La Concepción Reservoir, Costa del Sol: 376 logs, 4.6/5 rating
Why The Runcation Makes Sense
The appeal of the runcation is not especially complicated. Running gives travellers a way to understand a place before the shutters lift, before the crowds arrive, before the day starts selling itself.
A good holiday run is part sightseeing, part fitness session, part small private triumph. It lets you earn your appetite, map a destination by feel, and return home with something more interesting than a tan line and a vague memory of a sun lounger dispute.
Santorini, Nice and Barcelona all offer the same basic promise in very different accents: movement, scenery and the satisfying illusion that you are the sort of person who trains on holiday. Sometimes that illusion is enough.
Expert Advice For Running Safely In The Heat
Holiday running, of course, comes with one obvious complication: heat. Britain trains its runners in drizzle, grey pavements and wind that arrives sideways. The Mediterranean has other ideas.
Matt Bond, former GB distance runner and representative for Ronhill, has shared five expert tips for running outdoors safely and enjoyably in warmer weather.
Time Your Run Properly
“When running on holiday, the sweet spot is early morning or after 7 pm. The NHS and Met Office both recommend avoiding 11 am to 3 pm, when UV levels and temperatures peak.”
That is sound advice, particularly for anyone tempted to head out at noon because the hotel breakfast has made them feel invincible. It has not. It has merely made them full.
Choose Lightweight Running Kit
“Materials matter more in the heat. Cotton and heavier synthetics trap heat and hold sweat against your skin. Wear lightweight, technical fabrics designed to wick moisture away from the body and let air circulate. Ronhill has a great guide for what to wear when running in summer, which is worth the read.”
For hot-weather running, comfort is not vanity. It is performance, safety and basic self-respect. Heavy cotton on a warm climb is less a garment and more a portable regret.
Hydrate Before You Need To
“Hot-weather hydration isn’t something you start an hour before your run; it’s a 24-hour job. The UKHSA recommends drinking cold fluids throughout the day, even when you don’t feel thirsty. For any session over an hour, add electrolytes to help your body hold onto water and replace salts lost through sweat.”
This is where many holiday runners come undone. They hydrate enthusiastically in the evening, just not always with anything the body can use in a training sense.
Treat SPF As Essential Kit
“UV levels stay high through cloud cover, and sunburn can develop in under 20 minutes on a bright day. Apply SPF 30 or higher to any exposed skin at least 20 minutes before heading out and choose a sweat-resistant formula that won’t run into your eyes. For runs over two hours, carry a small tube to reapply. It feels like a faff before a session, but a bad burn can put you out of training for days.”
Running watches, technical vests and smart shoes all have their place. None of them will help much if your shoulders look like grilled peppers by lunch.
Slow Down When The Temperature Rises
“Heat makes your usual pace feel significantly harder, because your heart and skin are competing for blood flow to keep you cool. England Athletics suggests adjusting your training once temperatures rise above 25°C, slow your pace, shorten the distance, or split a long run into two shorter sessions. Most importantly, learn to recognise the warning signs of heat exhaustion: dizziness, chills, confusion or nausea. If you feel any of these, stop, find shade and hydrate.”
This is the part runners least enjoy hearing. The watch may say you are slower. The body may say you are being sensible. On holiday, the body gets the casting vote.
A Smarter Kind Of Summer Escape
The rise of the summer holiday runcation says something useful about modern travel. People still want rest, but increasingly they want it with a pulse. They want landscape, movement, wellbeing and the faint smugness of having finished a run before most of the resort has located its sunglasses.
Santorini’s Imerovigli to Oia route captures that shift neatly: beautiful enough to feel indulgent, demanding enough to feel earned, and memorable enough to survive long after the boarding pass has been binned.
The sunbed is not dead. It is simply being asked to wait until after the run.
