New Exercise Trips Take Shape…

Travelers explore various cultures ‘as a local’ through morning runs

(PRWEB) February 12, 2006 -- Hunter Schimpff is 22 years old and already the newest entrepreneur to land in the Park Cities. Originally from San Antonio, the recent Wake Forest graduate is armed with a major in Spanish, two minors in math and international studies, and a fresh concept.

“Honestly, I couldn’t sleep one night,” Schimpff said. “I then came up with the idea of taking people around the world.”

That idea was Running Vacations, an innovative twist to how people explore various cultures and a way to keep in shape at the same time. According to his website runningvacation.com, trips allow travelers to “explore the place they are visiting in an authentic manner.”

What truly makes Schimpff’s travel business unique is the opportunity for vacationers to go on a scenic run every morning around the area in which they are traveling. While doing so, Schimpff says they can really take in the life around them. Potential travelers have the option of choosing a trip to Chile or Argentina.

“I studied abroad in Chile,” Schimpff said. It was the combination of his experience there and his passion for running which fueled his imagination for the creation of Running Vacations. The traveler’s day is not ventured alone. Schimpff has arranged for a guide to be present to accompany the group around the area.

“I met him (Schimpff) because the place where he lived in Chile is the family of a school friend of mine,” said Loreto Pavez, who serves as the travelers’ tour guide should they decide to vacation in Chile. “My friend introduced us…we talked about the tours and we agreed to work together.”

The choice whether or not to work with Schimpff and his new enterprise was not a hard one for Pavez.

“I’ve already been a guide a couple of years ago in Torres del Paine national park, so I know, in general, this kind of work,” Pavez said. “This time it will be in my own city-born place, the city where I’ve grown up, where I’ve studied, where I’ve raised a family. I can show one of the most beautiful cities where you can go.”

Days begin with an early morning wake-up call, and hours filled with sightseeing.

“My guide takes the group where they will go running in the morning,” said Schimpff. “You can take as much time as you want, run as much or as little as you can…after the run, [travelers] are free to take an open hour for lunch. During lunch the client can see the city on their own.”

After the break, visitors adhere to a more set schedule of activities.

“One of the things we have planned is a dinner and tango show in Argentina,” said Schimpff. Other planned diversions include architecture tours and visits to art museums and vineyards. Pablo Neruda, the 1971 Nobel Prize winner for literature, called Chile home, and seeing his house is also on the agenda for that country.

Schimpff does not plan on keeping his business stagnant and is already considering future destinations around the world for people to run and explore. “I would like to expand to Scotland and Canada, maybe by this summer,” said Schimpff.
   
Perhaps the most unique aspect of Schimpff’s Running Vacations, is his decision to donate 10 percent of the total cost of a customer’s vacation to a charity of their choosing.
   
“I feel that doing these trips and earning money is great,” Schimpff said. “But I would love to give back by taking some of that money and passing it along to good causes. The customer can choose which charity they would like the 10 percent to be donated. We will then donate the money in their name.”
   
But the hope of Schimpff and Pavez is to provide a vacation for someone who truly wishes to experience life as a local in the country they visit, not just as another tourist. “I want travelers to take away our history, the warmness of our people, the smell of a hot and fresh piece of bread, the taste from a big plate of seafood, a good photo taken from a hill or maybe Pablo Neruda’s house,” Pavez said. “I love the people, the ships going in and out of the port, the weather. I love everything.”

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