Marathon

Belgrade Marathon 2018

Saturday April 21th 2018 I completed the Belgrade Marathon 2018 in Serbia. Find below my full race coverage plus some tourist impressions from Belgrade.

Belgrade Marathon 2018 - Tor Rønnow

Belgrade City
I had only a few hours for tourist impressions so it came down to a short visit in the park and the National Assembly by night and lastly the impressive Saint Sava Church. Overall, my impression of Belgrade was positive although I will not consider it as a tourist “magnet”. That said, I did not see the Castle nor the Tesla Museum, unfortunately, and I did not eat at the Novak Djokovic restaurant.  I did, however, “see” him in the airport.

Belgrade Marathon 2018
Belgrade Marathon 2018 took of at 10 AM Saturday morning; the air temperature was 21 degrees C only to rise and rise throughout the day, so the race became a hot, however lovely sunny experience. The event was nicely organized, the route was flat and the big Ada-bridge was the landmark to remember on the route. Personally, I was running without any kind of pain for the first time in I cannot remember how long, so I was quite happy with that.  But take a look in the full race report below to make your own impressions – or relive – the Belgrade Marathon 2018.

Belgrade Marathon 2018 - Tor Rønnow

See or relive Belgrade Marathon 2018 here (and in serbian):

Belgrade Marathon 2018 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Belgrade Marathon 2018 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
Belgrade Marathon 2018 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Belgrade Marathon 2018 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Belgrade Marathon 2018 – TorRønnow的照片(中文)
ベオグラードマラソン2018 – TorRønnowの写真(日本語)
Belgrade Marathon 2018 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Belgrade Marathon 2018 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Belgrade Marathon 2018 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
Belgrade Marathon 2018 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018

Saturday March 24th 2018 I completed the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships 2018 in Valencia. Find below my full race coverage plus some tourist impressions from this beautiful spanish coast city.

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 - Tor Rønnow

Valencia City
Valencia City includes the charming city centre with shopping, good restaurants and landmarks such as the Marcat Central and Plaza de la Reina and the cathedral. Other turist magnets are the zoo “Bioparc” and the “Oceanografic”, both locations great for kids and families.

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018
The IAAF World Half Marathon Championships started and ended at the Science Museum, just as the annual Valencia Marathon itself. This tradition of having a mass field behind the elite runners was started in Copenhagen 2014, continued in Cardiff in 2016 and now in 2018 in Valencia, Spain. The full impact of the event can be seen in my race report below but let me just congratulate on a job well done to the spanish organizers.

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 - Tor Rønnow

See or relive IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 here:

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 – TorRønnow的照片(中文)
リュブリャナ・マラソン2018 – TorRønnowの写真(日本語)
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)

Bahrain Marathon 2018

Friday March 2nd 2018 I completed the Bahrain Marathon. Find below my full race coverage plus some tourist impressions from Bahrain and it’s capital Manama.

Bahrain Marathon 2018 - Tor Rønnow

Manama
Manama includes the Souk and a few landmarks, of perhaps greatest interest the Manama Fort, which is on the UNESCO Heritage List. Worth to mention is also the Grand Mosque – indeed a very impressive building and featuring free guided tours explaining about the rituals of Islam. I learned a lot! To be recommended is also the Bahrain National Museum and nearby National Theatre.

The city also sports a few shopping malls and some very scenic views across the Persian Gulf. People are friendly and it is completely safe to walk around all times of the day. The climate in March is very accomodating with about 19-20 degrees C night and day.

Bahrain Marathon 2018
The Bahrain Marathon started together with the marathon relay on the Bahrain International Curcuit, ie. the Formula One track!

Bahrain Marathon 2018 - Tor Rønnow

See or relive Bahrain Marathon 2018 here (and in arabic):

Bahrain Marathon 2018 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Bahrain Marathon 2018 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Bahrain Marathon 2018 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
巴林馬拉松2018 – TorRønnow的圖片(中文)
バーレーンマラソン2018 – TorRønnowの写真(日本語)
Bahrain Marathon 2018 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Bahrain Marathon 2018 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Bahrain Marathon 2018 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Bahrain Marathon 2018 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
Bahrain Marathon 2018 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)

Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017

Saturday November 25th 2017 I completed the Halong Bay Heritage Marathon in Vietnam. Find below my full race coverage plus many tourist impressions from Hanoi and the Halong Bay.
You may well grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, this race report will take you some time to get through. The report links open in many languages.

Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 - Tor Rønnow

Hanoi City
Hanoi City includes the busy Old Town with it’s multitude of shops, bars and street food places. Everything is within 5-10 minutes of walking distance and the atmosphere is kind of electric both day and night. At first, you may be alarmed by the chaotic traffic but quickly you just get to love it. During our short stay, we managed to visit a few of the landmarks in Hanoi, it’s all in the report.

Halong Bay
The 4-day Tour Package from the Halong Bay Heritage Marathon sported a 1-day cruise on the Halong Bay itself. This was a nice diversion and we got to know the other runners on the ship a bit more, discuss the race experience and so on, besides from enjoying the beautiful views of the bay. Absolutely a cool stunt in the programme!

Halong Bay - Tor Rønnow

Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017
The Halong Bay Heritage Marathon started 06.00 hours and took the runners out-and-back on a 21.1 km loop with great sights to the bay at times, but also with some minor funny parts burdened by traffic also. The organization of the race and the service both before and after the race was of high quality, so I guess the exam is passed overall (though I would have some improvement points to the Race Director for future races). Writing this back home and evaluating the total trip to Vietnam, I have to say: this was the total race experience of the year and it will stay with me  for a long, long time. Thank you!

Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 - Tor Rønnow

See or relive Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 here (and in vietnamese, thai, malagasy, indonesian, filipino):

Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 – TorRønnow的照片(中文)
Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 – TorRønnowの写真(日本語)
Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
Halong Bay Heritage Marathon 2017 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)

Ljubljana Marathon 2017

Sunday October 29th 2017 I completed the Ljubljana Marathon. Find below my full race coverage plus some tourist impressions from the Slovenian capital.

Ljubljana Marathon 2017 - Tor Rønnow

Ljubljana City
Ljubljana City includes the picturesque Old Town cast alongside the Ljubljanica River. Everything is within 5-10 minutes of walking distance and the atmosphere is very calm both at day and night time. The city sports a few nice tourist landmarks including the pink church, the dragon bridge and, of course, the castle. Restaurants are cheap and the food is good, so is the local draft beer. Thus, it is difficult not to like this little, tiny capital of Slovenia.

Ljubljana Marathon 2017
The Ljubljana Marathon started together with the half marathon at 10.30 at the foot of Hotel Cubo. The route was quite easy and covering the “suburbs” of Ljubljana, and with a scenic and pleasant finish in the city centre. The overall organisation was great and I have no difficulties in giving this event my best recomondation.

Ljubljana Marathon 2017 - Tor Rønnow

See or relive Ljubljana Marathon 2017 here (and in slovenian):

Ljubljana Marathon 2017 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Ljubljana Marathon 2017 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Ljubljana Marathon 2017 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
Ljubljana Marathon 2017 – TorRønnow的照片(中文)
リュブリャナ・マラソン2017 – TorRønnowの写真(日本語)
Ljubljana Marathon 2017 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Ljubljana Marathon 2017 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Ljubljana Marathon 2017 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Ljubljana Marathon 2017 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
Ljubljana Marathon 2017 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)