Est. February 2026 · Dorset
RUNNER.KALICA

The Anglo-Italian Runner

Running · Photography · Europe Volume I · 66 routes logged
The road ahead — running through Italy

The Anglo-Italian Runner

The Journey.

Every run. Every walk. In the order they happened — from the years before the plan existed, through Europe, and into Italy.

This is the whole story.

62
Posts published
~239km
On Italian soil
22
Italian locations
2019
Where it starts

How to read this

Before Italy,
there was everywhere else.

The posts on this site are organised into chapters — not by alphabet or category, but by where we were in the story. The Wandering Years came before Italy. Italy came in three trips. The UK runs are the emotional foundation that made all of it possible. Read in order if you want the arc. Dip in anywhere if you just want a city.

Running in Dubrovnik, Croatia, October 2019

Chapter 0 · 2019–2021

Pre-Everything.
Before the plan existed.

Three runs that predate everything — the Lisbon moment, the research, the decision. A family holiday in Turkey, a weekend in Dubrovnik, a work trip to Switzerland that turned into something else entirely. Fewer photos, more pace. The years when we were just running, not yet running toward something.

Bodrum. Fourteen kilometres of yes. Hilly in Dubrovnik Lake Sarnen Loop and a Suspected Broken Toe
Coastal running — the years before Italy The years before the plan
Running through Europe — the Wandering Years

Chapter 1 · 2022–2024

The Wandering Years.
Finding the question.

Lisbon was where it started — May 2022, a week that planted a four-year plan. What followed was Europe, and a little bit of Africa, methodically, on foot: Portugal, Morocco, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Lithuania. We were working something out. We just didn't know what until Ravenna answered it.

Lisbon, Before Everything Marrakesh. The City Before It Wakes. Imlil. Sometimes You Need a Guide. Girona. We Flew Into the Right Airport. Girona – A little part of all of the city. Girona – Domeny, Torre Gironella and La Devesa Girona – The final chance to stretch my legs. Barcelona: Hot Hot Hot Ibiza. Not Bad With a Massive Hangover. Ibiza. Round the Mound. Málaga, January. Days and Nights. Málaga, January. The Long Way Round. Málaga. First morning. Couldn't not. Benalmádena to Torremolinos at dawn. Someone else's Benalmádena Alicante: Up to the Fort Alicante: Last One. On to Valencia. Valencia – Beautiful at every turn Birthday run before the rollercoasters Switzerland — Drop Dead Gorgeous Views, a Friend for Life Kaunas post Vilnius Walks Vingis Park foggy morning run
The ramparts, Ferrara — September 2025 Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna · September 2025 · The first steps into Italy
London Marathon finish line, April 2018

Chapter · UK · 2018–present

The UK Specials.
Where it all began.

The charity run that started everything. The illness that interrupted it. The return race that completed the circle. And several runs with a black labrador who has no idea she's part of any of this.

London Marathon 2018 — For Linda, Anthony and John London Landmarks Half Marathon — the return Run with Nellie
Europa Park, Rust Germany — May 2024

Chapter · Theme Parks · 2024–present

Theme Parks.
We are normal people
who like a thrill.

An annual birthday tradition that became a recurring motif. One post per park. Stats in steps, not kilometres. Filed separately — these are not the Italian archive, but they're part of the story.

Europa Park, Rust. The best day out in Europe. Gardaland — An Excellent Theme Park Mirabilandia — Italy's Second Biggest Theme Park. PortAventura — coming soon
🇮🇹
~239km
On Italian soil

Twenty-two locations. Twenty-eight posts. Three trips. The pull is unmistakeable at this point — more than half the archive is Italy, and we haven't moved there yet.

Italy Trip 1 — May 2025 — Milan to Venice

Italy Trip 1 · May 2025

Milan to Venice.
The first proper look.

Arrived by train. Milan, then Bergamo, then south to Lake Garda, Verona, Padua, Venice. Eight cities in ten days. The first time it felt like it might one day be ordinary to be here.

Milano. First Steps on Italian Soil. Bergamo: Absolutely Stunning Castellan in Sirmione at Night Sirmione in Daylight: The Peninsula Before the Boat Verona. Busy, Beautiful, and Almost a Birthday. Peschiera del Garda. We'll Stop for a Drink Later. Padova. The Rain Was Part of It. Venice. Crammed that in well.
Running the Ferrara ramparts — September 2025

Italy Trip 2 · September 2025

Emilia-Romagna.
Ravenna answered
the question.

Venice, then south by train into Emilia-Romagna. Ferrara, Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini. The trip where a day trip to Ravenna — almost cancelled — became the trip that changed everything.

Venice at night. Venice in the morning light. Running the walls of Ferrara Ferrara. The City of Bicycles. Up to the Madonna — 666 Arches and a very welcome beer Ravenna, a new possible home? Ten minutes on the bus — Our first look at the Adriatic One Night in Rimini
The Tuscan hills above Siena — February 2026 Outside Siena · February 12, 2026 · 7:49am
Mount Etna, October 2025

Sicily · October 2025 · Solo

Mount Etna.
James only.

A work trip to Sicily that became something else entirely. Zafferana Etnea. The Ottobrata festival. A volcano walk that earns its own chapter. The one post on this site written in "I" rather than "we" — the exception that proves the rule.

Mount Etna / Zafferana Etnea — the Ottobrata festival
Florence parks at dawn — February 2026

Italy Trip 3 · February 2026

Tuscany.
One last trip
before the move.

Cheap flight into Verona, train to Florence, then south through Tuscany. The parks of Florence before the city woke up. Siena into the hills. Pisa, Poggibonsi, San Gimignano by bus. Viareggio by night for Carnival. Then Milan and a DJ set in Switzerland — but that's another story and another site.

Viareggio. The Night the Street Became the Show. The Parks of Florence Florence. The City Doesn't Let You Off Lightly. Florence. The night was wet and it did not matter one bit. Pisa – We Had to While in Tuscany? Fiesole. Someone Said We Had to Go. Siena. The Night Was a Different City Entirely. Out of Siena, Into the Hills Siena. The Fortress, the Cathedral, and the Fontebranda. Poggibonsi – An Unexpected Treasure Trove of a Town. San Gimignano – Hilltop Village With the Most Amazing Views.
Ravenna — where the story is heading

Coming next · Ravenna · 2026

The move.
And everything after.

The plan is confirmed. Ravenna is the destination. The next runs will be from a different starting point entirely — not a hotel, not a day trip, but home. These posts will be written when we get there.

PortAventura — coming soon Ravenna — the first run from home Rimini — the recce run

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