Run to Machu Picchu Peru Runcation June 2020

Cusco, Peru

RT
Runcation Travel
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33 reviews
May 31 - Jun 7, 2020
Group size: 6 - 14
Run to Machu Picchu Peru Runcation June 2020
Cusco, Peru

Runcation Travel
  • Email address verified
  • Facebook verified
33 reviews

May 31 - Jun 7, 2020
Group size: 6 - 14

About this trip

On this run, we will traverse an incredible Inca highway consisting of over 125 km (77.7 mi) of ancient roads. The activities include trail running, enjoying the tranquility of nature, and exploring two amazing and enigmatic archaeological sites. We will cross through highly varied terrain of diverse ecosystems: from majestic rivers at 1500 meters above sea level (4921 feet above sea level) to high mountain passes at 4650 masl (15,256 fasl); from tropical rainforests to imposing glaciers; from the territory of the endangered spectacled bear to the skyways of

majestic condors in flight; all combining to make this a unique and memorable experience. The route begins in the town of Capuliyoc and passes through the famous archaeological complex of Choquequirao. We’ll visit small villages along the route, running lightly over intact Inca paths winding through the mountains, and ending at the mystical ancient citadel of Machu Picchu.


This running retreat adventure is open to ages 15 and up of any pace or level of runner. Must be able to complete 8-15 miles/day of hiking/running, including 1,000-6,000 feet of elevation gain per day. Optional 12-week training package available from an experienced running coach to ensure you're trained and ready to go for this adventure of a lifetime! 


Itinerary:

Day 1 Cusco - Lamay

Day 2 Lamay - Pumamarca - Ollantaytambo.

Day 3 Lamay - Capuliyoc

Day 4 Capuliyoc / Chiquiska / Maranpata / Choquequirao

Day 5 Choquequirao / Pincha Unuyoc / Maizal / Abra San Juan / Yanama

Day 6 Yanama / Abra Mariano LLamojas / Totora / Lucmabamba

Day 7 Lucmabamba / Llactapata / Hidroelectrica / Machu Picchu Village. Machu Picchu visit

in the afternoon and return train to Cusco

Day 8 Transfer Out to next destination


About the guides:

Diego Casabonne:

Diego ´The Running Cuy (Guinea Pig)´ Casabonne went from being 20 kg. overweight to finishing among the top 20 competitors in the 250 km. Marathon des Sables Peru, one of the world’s most challenging races.  His story goes back 5 years, when he took leave of his sedentary life, put on his running shoes, and conquered every challenge he took on since! In the past two years, he has completed over 10 ultra-marathons, including the 160 km. Patagonia Run, the 250 km. Marathon des Sables, the 125 km. Half-Marathon des Sables,  the 125 km. Ultra-Trail Harricana, both the 50 and 80 km. Endurance Challenges, the 100 km. El Cruce de Los Andes (Crossing of the Andes), and the 120 km. Ecuador Trail Tour, finishing among the top 20 competitors in each! 

Diego, today, has become a professional runner who divides his time between Lima and Cusco, seeking a balance between his city life and his new mountain life. An industrial engineer whose areas of expertise include self-improvement, self-motivation, strategy, training, and nutrition, Diego considers it his mission to share his knowledge with others to help them overcome any and all of the personal challenges they are facing in life. 


Domingo Elias:

Domingo Elias has profound experience as an adventure tour leader and guide. He has led groups of trail-runners in the Peruvian Andes for the past five years, facilitating unforgettable experiences for his groups in some of Peru’s most rugged and remote wilderness areas.  

Among his athletic accomplishments are:  

  • Finishing both the Boston and New York marathons seven times. 
  • Finished both the full and half-Marathons des Sables Peru (250-km. and 120 km., respectively) 
  • First place in his age category for the Pucón Trail 50k run 
  • Brand ambassador for Columbia Sportswear, Powerade, and Agua Glacial  

He has acted as a guide for internationally known runners, including Dean Karnazes (the “ultra marathon man,”) Michael Wardian, Darcy Piceu, and Jeff Fuchs, world-renowned Canadian adventurer, author, and tea expert.  

Domingo is the Founder and Director of the non-profit “Yo Soy Sus Ojos” (I am your eyes), an organization dedicated to the teaching and empowerment of visually impaired athletes. He is highly committed to protecting and improving the environment and to providing his groups with the highest quality and safest trail-running experiences while helping them to increase their mountaineering and wilderness skills and form lifelong friendships on the trail.  


***We are also offering this trip Aug 16-23, 2020. Please visit the retreat host's profile on WeTravel to see more offerings!***

https://www.wetravel.com/profiles/liz-gill

www.Runcation.org

This trip requires a minimum of 6 to run. Please do not purchase flights until confirming with retreat organizer. 

What’s included

- Transportation

- Professional bilingual guide

- Train from Machu Picchu Village to Cusco

- Bus ticket Machu Picchu – Machu Picchu Village

- Double occupancy tents with Thermarest sleeping pads

- Guided tour in Machu Picchu

- All meals during trek

- Non-alcoholic drinks

- Kitchen and dining tents

- Cook and field staff

- Horses and drivers

- Entrance ticket to mentioned attractions

- Solar energy lamps

- Eco toilets

- Adequate garbage disposal

- First aid kit and oxygen tank

Not included

- Personal travel insurance

- Laundry service

- Airline tickets

- Sleeping bags (rent available)

- Personal gear

- Alcoholic beverages

- Additional services

- Tips

- Extras


Before You Go

Trip Minimum:

This trip requires a minimum of 6 participants to run. In case of trip cancellation, a full refund is issued to all participants. After booking, please contact the trip organizer before booking your flights and other travel plans. 


Passport:

Must have a valid passport valid through 6 months upon date of travel.


Travel Insurance:

Must have travel insurance prior to start of trip. 

Fitness/Pacing:

While there are guides to accommodate every pace of attending runner, this trip requires participants to be able to run/hike for 7-15 miles on trails at a time in mountainous climates with an elevation gain of 1,000-6,000 feet per day. Training for this trip is essential in order to be able to complete and enjoy the trip. It is highly recommended that you participate in the 12-week group training program designed specifically for this trip as a package add-on to ensure you're able to tackle the trails and get maximum enjoyment of this running retreat!

Weather:

Although this time of year is the dry season in Peru, weather in the mountains is variable and trail conditions are subject to change. Routes and itinerary subjective to change based on the safety of conditions and climate of the trail at the time of the trip. Please pack layers and options for multiple climates accordingly (a detailed packing list will be sent upon registration).

Available Packages

Trip Price
$1,800
Deposit: $750

Available options

Itinerary

Welcome to Cusco!
Day 1

Day 1: Cusco – Lamay

The group will be arriving to the ancient Inca city of Cusco this morning, giving us the chance to meet at the delightful Pachapapa Restaurant at 12:00 hrs, where we’ll introduce ourselves and enjoy a welcome lunch together. After lunch, we’ll enjoy a gentle post-prandial walk around Cusco, visiting its main attractions. You’ll be struck by the unlikely yet intriguing combination of ancientness and modernity in this urban wonderland, as you traverse its streets and feast your senses on its eclectic sights and sounds. A city replete with history on every corner, the ancient Inca capital is among the most visited urban areas in South America. Fashionably dressed modern Cusqueñans stride down the streets, intermingling with campesinos, or country folk, often dressed in traditional garb and leading alpacas or donkeys, while carrying great bundles on their backs. During this half-day tour, we’ll visit the most important sites of this folkloric Andean city. You’ll traverse cobblestone streets lined with original Inca walls on the way to the ancient Inca Temple of the Sun (Qoricancha) found inside the Church of Santo Domingo. Once completely covered in gold, and housing hundreds of golden artifacts, the sight of Qoricancha so excited the lust of the conquistadors that they had thousands of irreplaceable artworks and sculptures melted down so that they could send the gold to the king and queen of Spain. Visit the Plaza de Armas, once the Inca’s main city center, and learn about its dramatic and sometimes violent history. Two churches stand on the Plaza, the Cusco Cathedral, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cusco, dating from 1654; and the even more ancient Church of the Triumph, which was built on top of the Suntur Wasi, an Inca religious temple. Note the significant works of art depicting Mary and the infant Jesus, saints, and apostles from the Cusco School of Painting, There is a “Last Supper” painting that depicts the main course in the center of the table as a guinea pig or cuy; it was painted by Quechua artist Marcos Zapata in the 18th century. The Plaza de Armas is a gathering place for locals, especially on weekends, and boasts lovely flower gardens, benches for the repose of locals and tourists, and central statuary. The tour will proceed at a gentle pace to give you time to acclimatize to the high- altitude and to present questions to your guide. In the afternoon, we’ll transfer to the picturesque town of Lamay, where we’ll spend the night at a local boutique hotel. Dinner on your own.

(L)

Duration of the City Tour: 4 hours

Driving distance: 45 km (28 mi) – Time: 1 hour

Your Organizer


RT
Runcation Travel
33 reviews
Runcation Travel creates international running adventures for runners. Instead of having to squeeze in a run on vacation, your run becomes the vehicle to explore and learn different cultures, countries, and landscapes. Our current runcations and trail running trips include hut-to-hut running adventures, retreats, training camps, and guided trail tours of the best trail running in the Italian Dolomites, Chamonix Mont Blanc, and Argentinian Patagonia, and more in group and custom itineraries. Our Runcations are for every level of runner.

Reviews

This was an awesome trip, and a wonderful experience! The trip was well planned out with great runs, but also plenty of downtime. Each of the runs were incredible and always ended up in beautiful scenery and sites. With a wonderful group of people that I met and have to say this was one of the best vacations I’ve ever taken!!
By Bethany L for Patagonia Runcation: Trail Running El Chaltén March 2024 on Mar 09, 2024
SL
Wow. The Patagonia Runcation was absolute perfection. We explored the Perito Moreno glacier together before heading up to El Chaltén for arguably some of the most beautiful running scenery in the world. Every day was designed to challenge us on the trails but each run was accompanied by rewarding views that seemed almost too beautiful for reality. I particularly appreciated the balance of trail running with other non-running activities, including the glacier viewing and the Estancia lunch and activities. The entire trip was expertly designed and organized and I would do this Runcation again in a heartbeat. To top it all off, everyone in the group bonded quickly over our love of running and adventure and we now have 13 new friends from around the world!
By Shelby L for Patagonia Runcation: Trail Running El Chaltén March 2024 on Mar 07, 2024
This was the trip of a lifetime for me. Exceptional views, great company and well organized. It was not “easy” and you should be in good shape and able to handle the climbs if you want to enjoy it, but if you’re up for it , you will not be disappointed. Patagonia is incredible and well worth the effort to get there. Runcation travel did a great job.
By Christine D for Patagonia Runcation: Trail Running El Chaltén March 2024 on Mar 05, 2024
The Runcation team put our dream TMB trek together for us. We utilized the custom trip option and are so excited for our trip this summer! They took all the hassle and anxiety out of planning a trip this big, so all we have to do is enjoy it!
By Taylor C for Custom Trip Deposit 2024 on Jan 18, 2024
This trip exceeded our expectations on every level. All of the accommodations booked by Runcation were great. We had a good mix of hotel and refuge/hut stays, and they were all very comfortable. Some were quirkier than others, but it was all part of the charm. They were all clean and had warm showers, so it beat camping by a long shot. We were also very grateful for the luggage transfers, which all worked flawlessly. It was SO NICE to only carry a daypack each day. We did a self-guided trip, which meant that Runcation provided us with a brief description of each day's trek along with the GAIX track for each day. It was perfect for the style of trek/travel that we like to do. When paired with a book about the Tour du Mont Blanc, we had all the info we needed. Runcation did the heavy lifting on the logistics which meant that we could just enjoy the trails, scenery, and food :-) We would definitely book with Runcation again.
By Erin G for Erin + Friends Custom Self-Guided TMB Sept 9-18, 2023 on Sep 29, 2023
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References

My husband and I went on the Hut to Hut run in the Dolomites, July 2022. What a luxury to have all accommodations booked and luggage transport taken care of, for us! The scenery was unimaginable, and you just can't imagine the beauty-you have to be there! We had 8-15 miles runs each day and felt challenged by the ascents and terrain, but not defeated. (We are from Ohio, NO moutains.) The runcation organizer, Liz and guide, Dario took care of all of the logistics and it was amazing to just have to cover ground an eat a bunch of great food! Thanks for a fantastic experience.
By Amanda F on 21 Jul, 2022
The tldr: Do it! This was an amazingly well planned trip (thoughtful planning, clearly),, the runs and views were unforgettable, and I'm already looking at the next one I can go on. The longer version: Runcation in Patagonia was amazing. Every thing was well-planned, the views were unforgettable, the crew was the best you could ask for, we stayed at nice spots with great staff...I could go on and on. Also, as someone who is super type-A, I really appreciate all of the early communication of expectations, what to pack, itineraries, and super quick responses from Liz.
By Marne P on 05 Jan, 2020