Finally... a run on the Napoleonic Trail

I have tried to run the Napoleonic trail from the Opicina tram many times. And have been thwarted by the weather every time. So the sunshine and unseasonably warm weather on Sunday morning encouraged me to give it another shot. So armed with my iPod and a bottle of water I once again got on the tram from Piazza Oberdan and we struggled up the hill towards Opicina. They are working on the line at the moment, so the tram only does half of its normal journey. But there is a courtesy bus to get you the rest of the way.
In Italy there is not always a huge amount of information for tourists. There are tourist boards with free information, but not always signs and very regimented instructions. But if you are headed this way and are in doubt its pretty easy to spot the start of the trail. Get off the tram or bus when it empties out - almost eveyone on the tram is heading for the trail and not for Opicina itself. If you are in doubt there is also an obelisk to mark the beginning of the trail.
My perseverence paid off. The trail is lovely - a little like Bowen Road in Hong Kong - a great surface to run on and very flat. The views are beautiful, you look down initially on Trieste nestled into the bay, then on the Miramare Castle as you get towards Prosecco.


In Hong Kong when you are out walking on a Sunday you often see familes out walking. There were people of all ages (and hundreds of dogs!) walking the trail on Sunday. But one thing that was new to me was the number of people rock climbing at the end of the trail. There were 5 or 6 people with ropes and cliips scaling the cliffs, with the rest of the gear in the roof racks of their cars parked nearby. Those that weren't climbing, walking or running were watching the others - it was great to see a young girl climbing almost to the top and everyone egging her on from the ground.
Enjoying the sunshine and the exercise I ran back to the Opicina end of the trail, then down to Roiano and back along to Pam supermarket for some shopping before going home. It was a great run, but I paid the price on Monday when getting out of bed was a bit of a challenge with my legs aching!