A few weeks ago I accepted the most wonderful invitation to join the adidas cityrunners in a 7km night run around the gorgeous city of Milan - for just 24-hours!

It’s probably one of the most adventurous things I’ve ever done in terms of spontaneous travel. I had only a couple of days notice before heading to Gatwick airport and taking a flight out to Italy with two other very nice ladies - Annaleena and Debbie, and adidas Social Media Manager Chris Watt.

We arrived in Milan wide-eyed in wonderment! Oh my! What a wonderful city. I’d never been to Milan before. In fact, I’ve not seen that much of Italy - just a short city break in Venice when I was InterRailing about 9-years ago. I often say to JMG that I would love to do a road trip around Italy where we eat, drink and see all that it has to offer. However, for the time being I will make do with Milan, in all its romantic beauty!

After marvelling at the rather grand architecture Milano Centrale station, we jumped in a taxi and made our way to Hotel Manin.

Our stomachs dictated our schedule for the afternoon: we decided to head out and explore the streets, to see what they had to offer. We had a few hours to wile away before our 7km run and so wanted to cram in as much of Milan as possible before our flight home the following morning.

I never expected to be so bowled over by the city. Having just got back from Paris, it was easy to be able to hold up one against the other and compare them. Paris streets look a little care-worn in comparison to Milan. Milan felt like a photograph taken by The Sartorialist; everyone looked sun-kissed and dapper. It was all sharp suits, handsome men on bicycles and tall, elegant, very beautiful women striding along pavements like they were on a catwalk. Wow!

Perched on a bench, savouring a scoop of the-best-pistachio-flavoured-gelato-in-the-world, and watching a local flower sell argue companionably with his wife. I had to pinch myself. It’s good to stop every now and again. To take a moment appreciate how lucky we were to be given the opportunity to experience something like this!

After heading back to hotel, we changed into our adidas gear, slipped on our Energy Boost running shoes and headed out into the evening to join the other cityrunners for our night tour of Milan.

What I wore…

• adidas energy boost 2.0 esm running shoes, in solar pink
• adidas supernova racer bra, black
• adidas response tee, pink

We warmed up with Federica Nargi - a famous Italian TV presenter and fitness enthusiast. And then headed to the start line. Runners new and old stuck tightly together, revelling in the whoops and cheers from Milano onlookers enjoying drinks outside cafes and bars.

The atmosphere was electric and the after party didn't disappoint either! The DJ hit the decks and exultant (yet slightly sweaty) runners indulged in prosecco and amazing canapés inspired by Davide Oldani, and then duly hit the dance floor.

Running around a new city is a really cool way to get to know a place. You can run through parks, discover interesting side streets and also, if you’re somewhere like Milan, you can fit in a spot of window shopping too!

Disclaimer: Thank you to adidas for kitting me out and inviting me to experience the Milan Boost cityrunner experience. It was incredible!

Photography © Lucie Kerley