I list only those sites I truly recommend and frequent myself. Contact me if you’d like to request a link exchange. This page is organized into Running, Travel and Misc. Check the Meet, Plan, Go category tab in the menu for more stories and resources related to long-term, life-changing travel.

Additionally, check out this blog post: “The Big List of Resources for Round-the-World Travel and Career Breaks” for a clearinghouse of useful websites and articles related to long-term travel and career breaks/sabbaticals.

Running

• A Trail Runner’s Blog: Scott Dunlap was one of the first runner-bloggers to make a name for himself, and his blog keeps running strong.
• iRunFar: Bryon Powell’s must-read for following the sport of ultra and trail running. Great section on trail guides & gear reviews.
• Ultrasignup.com: Best resource for trail race registration and searching runners’ results.
• Ultrarunnerpodcast.com: Two guys produce podcasts—mostly interviews with ultra runners—that are great to listen to on long runs, and they publish a daily digest of news from the mountain/ultra/trail running world.
• Run 100s: Stan Jensen’s master list of ultrarunning calendars and resources.
• UltramarathonRunning.com: Comprehensive list of trail, desert and other ultra-long events around the globe.
• Personal blogs by runners I like to follow: Jean Pommier, Devon Crosby-Helms, Leor Pantilat, Mark Tanaka, Hal Koerner, Gretchen Brugman, Stephanie Case

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Travel

• Almost Fearless: Christine Gilbert’s advice on how to travel the world and work wirelessly. Always well written, funny, and wise.
• Bodeswell: The incredible saga of Angela and Jason Rehm and their young son traveling in a rebuilt van across North and South America. Read my Q&A with them.
• BootsnAll: A blog/website supporting independent travel since 1998. I wish I knew about this site during our extended trip; I discovered it recently and find its blog intelligent and inspirational, and its travel planning resources and guides comprehensive.
• Briefcase to Backpack, aka Meet Plan Go: Ideas & inspiration for contemplating and executing the kind of major lifestyle change we did to travel for an extended period. This is the organization that spearheaded Meet, Plan, Go! national event and “basic training” curriculum for planning extended travel and making career breaks.
• Darn Good Digs: Great little site for finding high-quality, affordable lodging around the world. Each place that’s listed is meticulously researched by travelers (like me! I contributed to this site).
• Dolomite Sport, “Inspired Mountain Living”: Dan and Janine Patitucci are professional photographers, travelers and athletes. They photograph, run, and leaded guided trips to some of the world’s most scenic peaks & places, and they write about it on their kick-ass blog.
• Legal Nomads: a former attorney writes about extended travel and career break. She has a very useful one-stop resource page with advice on packing, budgeting and more.
• Nomadic Matt: A pro at traveling the world and living a life untethered. His site has oodles of resources along with insightful articles.
• Ottsworld: “Travel and life experiences of a corporate American runaway.” Wonderful blog by Sherry Ott, whom I’ve gotten to know since hosting the San Francisco Meet, Plan, Go! event.
• Take Your Big Trip: Kristin Zibell, also a panelist on the Meet, Plan, Go! event, left marriage and corporate life to travel around the world two years to India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe—volunteering, touring, trekking, photographing and blogging along the way. Now her site helps others plan and take their big trip.
• The Traveling Philosopher: Spencer Spellman’s stories about travel, culture, food and life. I got to know Spencer since he’s a panelist on the Meet, Plan, Go! event, and I quickly became a fan of his writing style and outlook on life.
• Two Backpackers: Jason & Aracely Castellani travel the world sharing HD adventure travel videos, HD travel pictures, and independent budget backpacking travel tips.
• The Vacation Gals: I trust the travel writers on this site and always admire their fresh content. If you have a destination in mind, search their archives for ideas and tips.

I also use the biggie sites all the time, but you probably know about them already. Here they are, just in case: Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet, Vacation Rental by Owner, New York Times Travel.

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Misc:

• AFAR Foundation and Global Explorers: Two worthwhile nonprofits promoting sustainable travel, educational travel and community development. Together they run the Learning Afar program that the Meet, Plan, Go event I’m hosting will benefit.
• Away Together: Our family’s archived travel blog, organized by destination. Tagline: “One family, one year, many places, no regrets.”
• Cogent Legal Blog: My husband’s blog for his new business, with news, views and how-to’s for litigation graphics and litigation strategy.
• WordPress Themeing: The web studio of Devin Price, who helped me build this site.

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