Sunday May 14th 2023 I ran the Copenhagen Marathon in the Capital of Denmark, my marathon no. 400. Find below my full race coverage with incredibly beautiful pictures from the entire route.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
See or relive Copenhagen Marathon 2023 here:
Monday March 20th 2023 I ran the Vatican Express Marathon starting from the Obelisk in the Holy See (Vatican State). Find below my full race coverage from a this marathon and from beautiful Rome (Italy).
Rome
Two days in Rome and it speaks for itself that so many things were left behind. But… with +20 times in Rome experience I crafted some heavy-duty packed tourist walks for me and the wife, thus covering most of the most important landmarks in this eternal city. Take a look on the many tourist pictures in the report and I ask: “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?”. Yes, Gladiator reference, sorry, could not resist it.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
Vatican Expres Marathon
This event a full marathon, a “mixed” experience with in terms of organisation and the lack of both information and communication before and after the event and with unclear route directions resulting in me running approx. 20 minutes longer due to GPS fall-out on my Garmin watch. On the positive side: very nice to have this race initiative in the first place, well-chosen venue and, first and foremost, good amical atmosphere amongst all the runners on the route. Step up on the aforementioned issues and this will become a lovely event, if continued.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
See or relive Vatican Express Marathon (2023) here:
Saturday February 11th 2023 I ran the Riyadh Marathon. Find below my full race coverage from a this marathon in the capital city of Saudi Arabia. Yes, Saudi Arabia!!
Riyadh City and Diryah
Three major landmarks in Riyadh are Diriyah, the Al Masmak Fortress and the Kingdom Centre, the latter with it’s “Skybridge” that affords spectalucar views over this impressive and vast capital. Most of Riyadh is comprised of “low” buildings, it’s mostly the hotels, Malls and such that are build in any significant height. The infrastructure of the city is based solely on car traffic, a metro is on it’s way but delayed as of Feb. 2023.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
The Edge of the World
Ok, so number 1 top attraction in Riyadh is… far outside Riyadh itself, actually a few hours drive away: the impressive landscapes at The Edge of the World. We enjoyed an 8 hours trip to these amazing cliffs, the walk abouts not for the fainth of hearts when it comes to altitudes. I was a bit shaky af first, myself, even after a lifetime of mounteneering. Adaption – is comes fastly. Take a good look on these pictures, just incredible outdoors!
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
Riyadh Marathon
This event sported 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon distances. The latter was on a 2-loop course and with a total of approx. 270 heightmeters up plus down, thus quite a challenge and an overall tough city marathon for sure. Nevertheless, also quite a spectacle as you can infer from the pictures. The organization of the race was superb – only minor issue perhaps the very slow hand-out of bibs – and on race day with very well-equipped water/supplies-stations with more than plenty of everything. It is not difficult to recommend this event and in an “exotic” country as well, at least coming from eg. Europe.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
See or relive Riyadh Marathon (2023) here: (and in arabic, urdu, hindi, punjabi, and turkish):
Friday January 20th 2023 I ran the Doha Marathon. Find below my full race coverage from a this marathon in the capital city of Qatar.
Doha City and Lusail
Three major landmarks of Doha and Lusail are given by the Doha skyline, the Lusail Stadion where Messi and Argentina finally meet their destiny and the newly finished Katara Towers, the latter a new iconic building of the World. We saw all of these during our short stay in Qatar alongside with a number of other nice tourist impressions from Doha, Lusail and Katara.
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
Doha Marathon
This event sported 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon distances. The latter proved to be a “mixed” experience with incredibly scenic views under the impressive Doha skyline on one hand and a complete lack of refreshments for almost half the race plus running in the midst of full open traffic on a motor highway!!
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
See or relive Doha Marathon (2023) here: (and in arabic, urdu, hindi, punjabi, and turkish):
2022 was quite a busy year for many marathoneers with races finally opening up after the COVID-19 lockdowns. Personally, I had a great and adventurous programme and below you find the 10 best of my race photos from around the world. I hope you will find inspiration to travel to some of these said races yourself, there are so many brilliant things to discover alongside with the running itself.
I wish you a very Happy New Year,
Tor Rønnow, Denmark
Best Marathon Photo 2022, No. 10 – Icefjord Midnight Marathon (Ilulissat, Greenland)
The photo bears witness to the greatness of the Ilulissat Glacier and the photo is taken during the Icefjord Midnight Marathon 2022 arranged by Albatros Travels. We see also the technical challenges of the route.
Recap the entire Race report from the Icefjord Midnight Marathon 2022 here.
Best Marathon Photo 2022, No. 9 – Copenhagen Marathon 2022
This photo is perhaps more odd than beautiful and you have to take a closer look at it to understand what is happening here! This little group made a backwards full-body jump for every kilometer during the entire Copenhagen Marathon 2022, I not sure why but this picture here fully encapsulates the both the fun and the madness to the project. Well done, group!
Relive the Copenhagen Marathon 2022 here.
Best Marathon Photo 2022, No. 8 – At the City Hall, Cluj-Napoca Marathon
Running for the first time in Romania, I visited the charming Cluj-Napoca Marathon in the beginning of September. The marathon was a little gem of an event and I got this photo passing the City Hall.
Find the complete race report from the Cluj-Napoca Marathon 2022 here.
Best Marathon Photo 2022, No. 7 – Gulf Bank 642 Marathon (Kuwait City)
I could actually post the first like 5-10 pictures from this trip, so I have chosen one that encapsulates the experience of Kuwait City and it’s marathon in a representative manner. Don’t be shy of visiting these Middle East countries, they are extremely friendly and rich of lots of impressions!
The race report from the Gulf Bank 642 Marathon 2022 is here.
Best Marathon Photo 2022, No. 6 – The Finish at the Parlament in Mexico City
A “finisher” photo from a city I for once explicitely did NOT like, Mexico City, and I struggled immensely during the marathon as well. But this shot is approved.
The race report from Mexico City, Mexico, and the Maraton de la Cuidad de Mexico is here.
Best Marathon Photo 2022, No. 5 – H.C. Andersen Marathon (Odense, Denmark)
This photo is actually a trick shot, namely both featuring the finish at the H.C. Andersen Marathon in Odense, Denmark, but also Mr. Ulrik Pihl of Denmark, who celebrated his marathon no. 1000 (!) at this event, very impressive indeed (and a feat also completed earlier in 2022 by my swedish mentor Mr. Lennart Skoog of Sweden).
Find the race report of on of my favorite danish marathons H. C. Andersen Marathon 2022 here.
Best Marathon Photo 2022, No. 4 – Snowdonia Marathon 2022, Wales
This and the next photo are from the majestic Snowdonia Marathon in Wales. I cannot express in words how much I loved this marathon and the friendship of my new welsh running friends, but I do believe my pictures in the race report tell the story quite strongly: this is a UNIQUE experience!!
The first of two pictures are from the first, tough climb of the race – just before summit.
Find the full report from the Snowdonia Marathon 2022 here.
Best Marathon Photo 2022, No. 3 – Snowdonia Marathon 2022, Wales
The second picture from Wales are from approx. 7 km into the race, running on gravel and with a fantastic view over the Snowdonia Valley. I just love this shot!
Find the full report from the Snowdonia Marathon 2022 here.
Best Marathon Photo 2022, No. 2 – Sydney Marathon 2022
So, the trip to Australia and the Sydney Marathon was arguably the highlight of the year, which you will understand from my very, very comprehensive race report that sports the first 20 outstanding photos.
However, this shot from KM 41 at the Sydney Marathon 2022 stands out and of course it must be of the Sydney Opera House – see also the bonus picture below.
My race report from the Sydney Marathon 2022 is here.
Best Marathon Photo 2022, No. 1 – Icefjord Midnight Marathon (Ilulissat, Greenland)
Ok, so my best photo of the Year 2022 is actually not from the Icefjord Midnight Marathon itself but this picture taken at exactly midnight (!) the day after the race. The stunning view is overlooking the Disco Bay at Ilulissat, Greenland, with icebergs as far as the sight reaches and with the sun disk well above the horisont. This is for sure one of the most memorable moments of my many marathon travels.
Recap the entire Race report from the Icefjord Midnight Marathon 2022 here.
Bonus pictures
On a personal note, the Sydney Marathon was extra special to me in the manner that it completed my sweep of marathon continents to complete! For this reason, I treasure this moment particularly.
I thus joined the 7Z Finsher list and received this memorable medal as well, my precioussss.
However, the most remarkable medal of not only this year but the past 25 years was given not to me but to my Ph.D.-supervisor some 30 years ago, to Prof. Dr. Morten Meldal, who jointly received the Nobel Price in Chemistry 2022, making us all so very humled and proud! If there is one thing I learned from Morten it is to visualize your goals, something all runners and travelers can enjoy the results of.
