Take your run to the next level by looping in art, history and architecture.
We all have those favourite routes from home that are quick, fun and get us familiar with our neighbourhoods, but what if venturing further meant we had more to admire? We chose some pieces of art, architecture and engineering from a few major Canadian cities, to help turn your next run into a culture crawl.
Toronto and Barrie
The distillery district
This artisan mecca boasts great shops, restaurants and cobblestone streets worthy of a Saturday stroll and patio lunch. But while you’re mid-sweat why not take off down Gristmill Lane and spend time with a few notable pieces of art instead? Keep an eye out for Michael Christian’s Koilos sculpture, Still Dancing by Dennis Oppenheim and the Insta-famous Love Locks installation. Use #distilleryto to find more.
Monument to multiculturalism at Union Station
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As Canada’s busiest multi-modal transportation hub, Union Station sees a lot of different faces. In 1985, Italian artist Francesco Perilli’s bronze masterpiece was unveiled in front of the Beaux-Arts-style building as an ode to the positivity of multiculturalism and the dialogue and peaceful collaboration it can spark among people of different ancestries and convictions – a great place to see and a great topic to meditate on when your mind starts to wander on long, slow runs.
Spirit Catcher
Ron Baird’s Spirit Catcher sculpture has travelled the nation from its original Expo 86 home in Vancouver’s False Creek, all the way to Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie. The piece explores First Nations’ mythology of the Thunderbird and is now part of the MacLaren Art Centre’s permanent collection. MEC Ambassador Jim Willet appears ant-sized next to the twenty tonne steel sculpture. Cool fact: its 16 quills are kinetic and rock back and forth as the wind blows.
Calgary
The Peace Bridge
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In an interview with the Calgary Herald, Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava called the Peace Bridge the most technically challenging work he’d ever designed, and for good reason. The structure has a webbed, tubular design with just a 1% slope – a pretty amazing feat considering it has no pillars, masts, beams, arches, cables or lower supports other than the embankment at either side of the Bow River. A favourite of pedestrians, the maple-leaf-red bridge is so famous it has its own Instagram account, @peacebridgeyyc.
Wonderland at the Bow
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If you’re looking for a turning point in your run, consider Wonderland at Calgary’s Bow building.The 12-metre high, bent-wire cameo features two door-sized openings that invite passersby to get up close and personal with Barcelona-based artist Jaume Plensa’s work. Participation is a big part of this YYC landmark and from inside, visitors can get a whole new perspective of the iconic skyscraper that rises 58 storeys above it.
Vancouver
Science World
Originally built for Expo 86, this “golf ball” on False Creek is a geodesic dome – a patented invention of American inventor R. Buckminster Fuller, also used at Expo 67 in Montreal. The 391 lights across 766 triangles make Science World a favourite to capture at night. Plan your run for dusk and enjoy the scene as the sunset fades and the dome lights up (and revisit during the day to check out all the cool exhibits inside).
Bridges galore
From Ironworkers to Lions Gate, Vancouver is home to more than a few bridges. Burrard, Granville and Cambie offer great views of False Creek and English Bay and are accompanied by ocean air breezes (plus Granville offers an awesome view @OsGemeos’s Giants). Ironworkers features three-metre safety railings that skew and fade your perspective the faster you tread. And suspension-style Lions Gate is a great way to tack on a couple extra kilometres to your next Stanley Park run.
Montreal
Habitat 67
Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie’s Habitat 67 has become an emblematic symbol of the Montreal landscape. The building’s design was originally conceived as part of Safdie’s McGill University thesis and focused on the connection between quality of life and an urban environment. The building draws its name from both the centennial year, and the 67.354 modules stacked on top of one another to form 148 individual residences. Run by and you might see MEC Ambassador Joan Roch training for his next ultra.
Montreal Biosphere
Consider yourself an environmentalist? A sprint past former Expo 67 pavilion, aka Montreal’s Biosphere, may be just the thing to convince you to take on more foot-powered commutes. The design combines R. Buckminster Fuller’s steel geodesic dome with an interior set of enclosed buildings designed by Éric Gauthier. Together they make up an environmental museum exploring water ecosystems, climate change and sustainable development.