Originally Posted on April 9, 2021

With Qatar in a lockdown that took effect today, all gyms are closed—but the sidewalks and streets are still open for runners.

Running around the Pearl, an island, today was my best running experience yet in Qatar.

Rather than remaining in my usual place on a treadmill, I went outdoors and ran by the marina, across bridges, up and down stairs, through tunnels, and along rows of restaurants with “delivery only” signs posted out front.

During the course of my run, I darted my head from left to right as I looked at the seemingly endless rows of pastel blue, yellow, and pink casas.

Not following a specific trail, I made my own—weaving running around light poles and park benches and pausing to look at the restaurant fronts with pink telephone booths, fresh flower-covered arches, and giant giraffe, elephant, and butterfly statues.

But intertwined with the new were moments of familiarity —a stranger imitating my jogging motion to cheer me on, a random pile of cat food intended for strays on the brick, a lone runner with a shirt as sweat-drenched as mine, Dean Martin’s “On an Evening in Roma” playing from marina-side speakers, and a man walking his dog.

I might not go back to the treadmill when the gym reopens. The world is too beautiful.