Half Marathon Archives — Tor on marathon

Marathon

Sofia Marathon 2021

Sunday October 10th 2021 I ran the Sofia Marathon in Bulgaria. Find below my full race coverage from the Bulgarian Capital. Due to rather poor weather I did not see much of the city or any touristic stuff, find however few pictures from the landmark no.1 in Sofia, namely the majestic Saint Alexander of Neva Patriarch’s Cathedral, and some impressions from the pedestrian street Vitosha Boulevard.

Wizz Air Sofia Marathon 2021
The Wizz Air Sofia Marathon started at 09.30 AM in the morning in grey and rather depressing weather.

The race course was a two-fold identical loop for the marathon distance and covered a few landmarks in the centre of Sofia but was otherwise not very uplifting, i.e. unless running on a highway takes you to heaven. That said, you got some good insight to the ordinary life (street- and housing wise) in this quite large city (approx. 1 million inhabitants) and as for the running some nice easy kilometers on asphalt.

The race is well organized and I am sure it will thrill more under a blue sky and sunny conditions.

See or relive Wizz Air Sofia Marathon 2021 here (and in bulgarian, macedonian, arabic, greek, albanian, turkish, russian, and serbian):

By Tor Rønnow, 6 daysNovember 23, 2021 ago

Marathon

Guernsey Marathon 2021

Below my race report from Guernsey Marathon 2021, Guernsey, including various tourist impressions.

Guernsey and St. Peter Port
Guernsey? Well, according to Google, Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands in the English Channel near the French coast, and is a self-governing British Crown dependency. It’s known for beach resorts like Cobo Bay and the scenery of its coastal cliffs. Castle Cornet, a 13th-century harbor fortification in the capital of St. Peter Port, now contains history and military museums. Hauteville House is the lavish former home of French writer, Victor Hugo.

Great! To me, in addition, Guernsey is where you can see an Enigma Machine and where you can find peace of mind by just glaring at the Sea, the British Canal. The race report justifies this, I believe.

In short: I loved my few days in Guernsey very much!

Guernsey Marathon 2021 - Guernsey - Tor Rønnow

Guernsey Marathon 2021 - Tor Rønnow - Guernsey Marathon 2021

Guernsey Marathon 2021
The event featured a full marathon Sunday plus a fun run and two types of marathon relay (2 or 5 runners). The organization was flawless, the weather was beautiful and the route was at many, many points extremely scenic, especially the views on the Sea, the Castles and the Loop Towers. Personally, I managed to book my best marathontime for the past 2 years and that on a somewhat hilly route with many turns and twists and, unfortunately, quite a lot of car and bus traffic on the roads.

See in the race report below just why you should add Guernsey Marathon to your bucket list!

See or relive the Guernsey Marathon 2021 here:

By Tor Rønnow, 4 weeksNovember 3, 2021 ago

Marathon

HCA Marathon 2021

Sunday September 26th 2021 I ran the HCA Marathon in Odense, Denmark. Find below my full race coverage from a magnificient and quite tough day in the running shoes in the city of birth of the great Poet Hans Christian Andersen.

HCA Marathon 2021 (Odense, Denmark)
The HCA Marathon started at 10.00 AM in the morning and in great weather too. The race course covers most of the landmarks in and around Odense, however, not the childhood home of H.C. Andersen. The Marathon was also venue of the Danish Championships 2021 and probably due to this fact the crowd was spectacularly big and counted one of the best danish long distance runners of the past two decades, namely Jesper Faurschou, Olympic participant in London 2012. Jesper edged a well-deserved Silver Medal declaring defeat to the “new kid” Martin Egebjerg Olesen, who obviously completed in race in an outstanding performance through the two rounds; my warm congratulations to both Martin and Jesper, the race report even features a number of great shots of the two contenders.

It is also worth to mention the high-class organisation behind the event, I believe everything was just right and the staff and many helpers were cheerful and friendly throughout the day. Add to this a nice and often scenic route and plenty of spectators, well, at least during Round 1. In toto, yet another perfect race at HCA Marathon in Odense.

See or relive HCA Marathon 2021 here:

By Tor Rønnow, 2 monthsSeptember 29, 2021 ago

Marathon

Helsingborg Marathon 2021

Saturday September 4th 2021 I ran the Helsingborg Marathon in Sweden. Find below my full race coverage from a magnificient day in the running shoes.

Helsingborg Marathon 2021
The Helsingborg Marathon started at 10.00 AM in the morning and in great weather too. The race course covers a tiny but important part of the city center and then heads southwards for about 7 km. The route then folds back towards Helsingborg and beyond and passes a number of landmarks in the area including the famous Sofiero Castle before concluding the race at the brink of Oeresund in a spectacular manner.

The race is superbly organized, adventurous and also quite tough. A lot of very nice pain, indeed, but worth every scream.

See or relive Helsingborg Marathon 2021 here:

By Tor Rønnow, 3 monthsSeptember 6, 2021 ago

Marathon

Split Marathon 2020

Below my race report from Split Marathon 2020, Croatia, including various tourist impressions from the beautiful Old Town of Split, yet another UNESCO site.

Split
Diocletian’s Palace is central in the experience of the Old Town and tourist areas in Split, Croatia. The city sports a beautiful waterfront against the Adriatic Sea and many cafés, restaurants to quite affordable prices. I stayed at the Cornaro Hotel famous for it’s magnificent roof top views over the city, you find samples in the race report indeed.

In short: Split is a very, very nice place to visit. Go, go, go!

Split Marathon 2020 - Split, Croatia - Tor Rønnow

Split Marathon 2020 - Tor Rønnow - Split Marathon

Split Marathon 2020
The event featured a 5K run Saturday and half and full marathon Sunday. The organization was flawless, the weather was beautiful and the route was at points extremely scenic, especially the views from the Marjan peninsula over the Adriatic Sea. The route was quite tough with nearly 400 heightmeters both up and down on the maraton distance, but given the diversity of impressions and the so-indeed lovely day all efforts were worth the while. I give Split Marathon my very best of recommendations!

On the people front I had great pleasure of meeting several local Split native runners and it was also a honor to congratulate Lichu Sloan of the US with her marathon/ultra country no. 100! On a personal note I booked my own country no. 55 and my plans for 2020 is to close Oceania and thus close all 7 continents. If the Corona.virus permits.

With many marathons and sporting events being cancelled these forthcoming weeks and monts I feel very grateful for the expeciences at Split Marathon 2020, see in the race report below just why.

Split Marathon 2020 - Croatia - Tor Rønnow

See or relive the Split Marathon 2020 here (and in croatian, macedonian, arabic, greek, albanian and turkish) :

By Tor Rønnow, 2 yearsMarch 8, 2020 ago

Marathon

Havana Marathon 2019

Sunday November 10th 2019 I completed the Havana – La Habana – Marathon 2019 in Cuba. Find below my full race coverage plus many tourist impressions from Havana and a day trip to the famous Bay of Pigs.

Havana, Old Havana, crocodiles and the Bay of Pigs
Havana and Old Havana is a strange mix of beauty, poverty, old American cars and many historic landmarks within walking distance. Havana is – especially by night – an extremely scenic city but the sparkling colours go hand in hand with the very, very poor and suppressed cubanes, all in all leaving a somewhat bad and sad flavour to the experience. I’m not sure I would like to revisit, but I am glad I have.

Out of Havana I had the pleasure to visit the Bay of Pigs and a crocodile farm en route, the trip was directly out from my hotel and it was fun to drive in one of those old, beautiful american cars.

Havana Marathon 2019
Havana Marathon ( La Habana – Marabana – Maracuba Marathon event) turned out to be a surprisingly well-arranged event: nice, scenic route (by the Malecón), friendly helpers, lots of water and juice, effective traffic control. In toto: no issues what so ever!

Well, the weather was a kind of it’s own, first heavy rain showers, then on the second leg of the marathon very warm and humid conditions. However, I guess was still better that possible temperatures above 30 degrees Centigrade.

As you can infer from the pictures in the race report the km’s by the Sea at the Malecón are out of this world breathtaking! For this main reason I’d suggest you to consider this race.

Havana Marathon 2019 - Tor Rønnow - Havana Marathon

See or relive Havana Marathon 2019 here:

By Tor Rønnow, 2 yearsNovember 26, 2019 ago

Marathon

Petra Desert Marathon 2019

Saturday September 7th 2019 I completed the awesome Petra Desert Marathon 2019 in Jordan. Find below my full race coverage plus a few tourist impressions from this adventure organized by Albratos Travels.

Petra and the Dead Sea
So, I was on the “deluxe” tour including a day (actually, only half a day due to my own poor research) at the Dead Sea on the Jordan side. There is something magical to be at the lowest point of the surface of the planet and to float around in that soo salty water!

And Petra ? Oh, man! It is difficult to find the words here, I’d rather have the pictures speak for themselves. I can only say that I feel very privileged to have experienced Petra and to furthermore have it in physical context of a marathon, that is pretty mindblowing. More about that below.

Petra Desert Marathon 2019
Petra Desert Marathon 2019 was a very well organized event featuring a half marathon and a full marathon. The route for the marathon was VERY HILLY and was comprised by a desert loop (the absolutely best and most funny part of the race), an out-back loop on road (nice, scenic at places, dead tough in the end) and the just-last 11 kilometers including the mountain climb that also the half marathoneers had to conquer. My Garmin said +1100 heightmeters up, +1000 heightmeters down and with temperatures reaching 27 C in the shadows – which we did NOT have the luxery of – and the highest altitude approx. 1400 meters above sea level, I was very happy to finish in 5.56. In conclusion, Petra Desert Marathon was an experience for a lifetime! If you’re a runner: get this in!

See or relive Petra Desert Marathon 2019 here (and in arabic, greek, hebrew and turkish):

Albatros Event Video recap
Though I will be happy for your interest in my race report above, I will also draw your attention to the official video from Albatros Travel. You’ll even find me in there for some 10 elusive seconds (at about 2.50 and onwards).

By Tor Rønnow, 2 yearsSeptember 16, 2019 ago

Marathon

London Marathon 2019

Sunday April 28th 2019 I completed the fabulous Virgin Money London Marathon.
Find below my full race coverage plus a few tourist impressions from the beautiful city of London.

London City
I had only Saturday to make a few tourist impressions, but this was ok as I have been many times in London previously. Of course I needed to visit Covent Garden and the flagship store of Paul Smith and that was pretty much it, well, Picadilly Cirkus, Regent Street, Oxford Street and New Bond Street and Old Bond Street also came in handy. London is simply a very nice methropole to visit.

Virgin Money London Marathon 2019
Virgin Money London Marathon is one of the six World Marathon Majors and as such one of the most prestigeous and famous marathons in the world. This year was actually my fourth show at this event but this year still very special as I ran the whole race together with my wife-to-be, Maria. And you will find more interesting details in the race report about that too. So about the race itself: just awesome! So many people out there in the streets supporting and cheering and the finish at The Mall is incredible each time!

Virgin London Marathon – selected pictures

Virgin London Marathon by the Miles

See or relive Skopje Marathon 2019 here :

By Tor Rønnow, 2 yearsJune 21, 2019 ago

Marathon

Skopje Marathon 2019

Saturday May 4th 2019 I completed the Wizz Air Skopje Marathon 2019 in North Macedonia.
Find below my full race coverage plus a few tourist impressions from the beautiful city Skopje.

Skope City and Old Town
Skopje is the Captal of North Macedonia and as such a very small city, however, extremely scenic with the old Stone Bridge as the main attraction I would say. I think I took the largest number of picturesque photographs within like 30 minutes I have ever taken any where and since North Macedonia made it my marathon country no. 46 I have seen stuff around. Other attractions include the Mother Teresa Park and the vast number of statues in Skopje (in the Old Town).

Skopje Marathon 2019
Skopje Marathon 2019 was a very well organized event featuring a half marathon, a full marathon, a marathon relay a 5 K race and a “team builing race”, whatever that is. The route for the marathon was VERY FLAT and was comprised by two identical (half marathon) loops along several of the landmarks in and nearby Skopje City. I’d say this is one – if not THE – flatest city marathons I have ever been to (a total of 76 height meters!!!), very easy route. I like it that way.

See or relive Skopje Marathon 2019 here (and in macedonian, arabic, greek, albanian and turkish):

By Tor Rønnow, 3 yearsMay 12, 2019 ago

Marathon

Antalya Marathon 2019

Sunday March 3rd 2019 I completed the Antalya Marathon 2019 in Turkey.
Find below my full race coverage plus a few tourist impressions from Antalya.

Antalya City and Old Town
Antalya City took me by surprise by it’s large size and non-tourist impression. However, Antalya sports the Old Town and many landmarks herein, including the famous Hadrian’s Gate (a leftover from the Roman Empire) and beautiful views towards the Mediterranean Sea. The costline is packed with the large tourist hotels and people visit Antalya and the area not only for the beaches but also for excursions and playing golf. For sure, Antalya is a pleasant place to visit.

Antalya Marathon 2019
Antalya Marathon 2019 was a very well organized event featuring a half marathon, a full marathon and a 10 K race. The route was an out-home strech, quite scenic at places and along several of the landmarks in and nearby Antalya City.

See or relive Antalya Marathon 2019 here (and in arabic, urdu, hindi, punjabi and turkish):

By Tor Rønnow, 3 yearsMarch 28, 2019 ago

Sofia Marathon 2021 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Sofia Marathon 2021 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)
Sofia Marathon 2021 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Sofia Marathon 2021 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
Sofia Marathon 2021 – 照片 / Tor Rønnow 攝（中文）
ソフィアマラソン2021-写真/TorRønnowによる写真（日本語）
Sofia Marathon 2021 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Sofia Marathon 2021 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Sofia Marathon 2021 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Sofia Marathon 2021 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)

Guernsey Marathon 2021 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Guernsey Marathon 2021 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
Guernsey Marathon 2021 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Guernsey Marathon 2021 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
Guernsey Marathon 2021 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Guernsey Marathon 2021 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Guernsey Marathon 2021 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
2021 年根西島馬拉松賽圖片 / 圖片來自 Tor Rønnow（中文）
ガーンジーマラソン2021-TorRønnowによる画像/写真（日本語）
Guernsey Marathon 2021 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)

HCA Marathon (Odense) 2021 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
HCA Marathon (Odense) 2021 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)
HCA Marathon (Odense) 2021 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
HCA Marathon (Odense) 2021 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
HCA Marathon (Odense) 2021 – 照片來自 Tor Rønnow（中文）
HCAマラソン（オーデンセ）2021-写真：TorRønnow（日本語）
HCA Marathon (Odense) 2021 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
HCA Marathon (Odense) 2021 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
HCA Marathon (Odense) 2021 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
HCA Marathon (Odense) 2021 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)

Helsingborg Marathon 2021 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Helsingborg Marathon 2021 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)
Helsingborg Marathon 2021 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Helsingborg Marathon 2021 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
赫爾辛堡馬拉松2021 – 圖片TorRønnow（中文）
ヘルシンボロマラソン2021 – TorRønnowの写真（日本語）
Helsingborg Marathon 2021 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Helsingborg Marathon 2021 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Helsingborg Marathon 2021 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Helsingborg Marathon 2021 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)

Split Marathon 2020 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Split Marathon 2020 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
Split Marathon 2020 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Split Marathon 2020 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
Split Marathon 2020 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Split Marathon 2020 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Split Marathon 2020 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
2020年拆分馬拉松-小於TorRønnow（扭蛋）
Split Marathon 2020-TorRønnowの写真（日本語）
Split Marathon 2020 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)