Sunday April 23th 2017 I completed the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon. Find below my full race coverage plus some tourist impressions from the Polish capital.

Warsaw City
Warsaw City includes the picturesque Old Town – which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list – and a number of beautiful shopping streets such as Krakowskie Przedmiescie and Ulica Nowy Swiat. I did not have time to visit museums during my short stay (arrived Saturday Morning, home Sunday evening after the race), but they are plenty in Warsaw and features both the WWII, Chopin and Copernikus just to mention a few most famous ones. I mostly strolled around in the very pleasant Old Town area, very scenic especially at night time.

ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2017
The ORLEN Warsaw Marathon started at 09.00 in the morning at the foot of the impressive PGE Narodowy Stadion. The route carried the runners firstly by the River Vistula, then through the Old Town of Warsaw and later through various suburbs before the turn in a distant park and seeking home – in gusting head winds – towards the finish back at the Stadion. I found the route to be of good variation and with, of course, the Old Town, Krakowskie Przedmiescie and Ulica Nowy Swiat to be the major attractions.

I enjoyed the ORLEN Warsaw Marathon, it is a superbly and very professionally arranged event indeed. It is very clear that it is a generous race with a deep love for both Warsaw and the participants, and it thus not difficult to recommend a trip hereto.

See or relive Warsaw Marathon 2017 here (and in polish):

ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2017 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2017 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2017 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
ORLEN華沙馬拉松2017年 – 托爾Rønnow的圖片/照片（日本）
ORLENワルシャワマラソン2017 – TorのRønnowの映像/写真（日本）
ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2017 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2017 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2017 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2017 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
ORLEN Warsaw Marathon 2017 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)

Sunday April 2nd 2017 I ran the magnificient Bratislava Marathon. Find below my full race coverage plus some tourist impressions.

Bratislava City
Bratislava City was everything I hoped for: quite, scenic, just lovable and with that twist of the old Eastern Europe that is so special. Highlights during my very short stay was meeting up with a very old friend and the 7 course beer menu at the top of the UFO with very nice food, top beer brands and extremely good and friendly service by the staff. I’d go back just for that.

Bratislava Marathon 2017
The Bratislava Marathon started at 10.00 in the morning so for once it was possible to eat a full breakfast in the hotel. The day turned out very warm and sunny and the route was flat, varied, scenic and simply just great even given the fact that you had to do two identical rounds for a full marathon. The race was my completion of a marathon in country #30 and thus I became, memorably, member of the elusive Marathon Country Club and a three flag member of the Marathon Globetrotters. I LOVED the scenic route around Bratislava as you may infer from the pictures in the report.

Visiting Bratislava Marathon is very, very highly recommended.

See or relive Bratislava Marathon 2017 here (and in slovak):

Bratislava Marathon 2017 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Bratislava Marathon 2017 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Bratislava Marathon 2017 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
ブラチスラバマラソン2017 – TorのRønnowの写真（日本）
Bratislava Marathon 2017 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Bratislava Marathon 2017 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Bratislava Marathon 2017 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Bratislava Marathon 2017 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
Bratislava Marathon 2017 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)

Sunday March 5th 2017 I ran the Vodafone Malta Marathon. Find below my full race coverage plus some tourist impressions.

Malta: Sliema, Valletta, Mdina and Rabat
Admittedly, I knew very little about Malta prior to this trip. However, one can reach to see quite a lot during just one day of dedicated turisting, and on Malta I got to see the major highlights of Mdina, Rabat, Sliema and Valletta. I found the atmosphere and price level of Malta very accomodating and have for sure gotten taste for more of what this small country has to offer. But take a look at the pictures yourself (click to see larger versions). I guess Mdina and the catacombs in Rabat was the most interesting in terms of History, not to mention St. Paul’s Grotto also. But also just to walk the narrow, impressionistic streets of Sliema and Valletta, especially at nighttime, was very soothing.

Vodafone Malta Marathon 2017
The Malta Marathon started at 07.30 in the morning. The race course took off from Mdina and there was organized bus transport from hours 06.00 from Sliema, however, I took a taxi (hours 06.45) from the hotel after a kind tip from Thomas from Switerzerland thus sleeping an hour more plus reaching the hotel breakfast. The full marathon involves a lot of “running about” in the Mdina area before rejoining the half marathon route and half marathon runners and power walkers (!) towards the finish at Sliema Bay. I think there were many beautiful sights during the race and found it overall to be a great experience!

Visiting Malta Marathon is highly recommended, of course, and I think I will return soon again myself.

See or relive Malta Marathon 2017 here (and in maltese):

Malta Marathon 2017 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Malta Marathon 2017 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Malta Marathon 2017 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
マルタマラソン2017 – TorのRønnow（日本）の写真
Malta Marathon 2017 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Malta Marathon 2017 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Malta Marathon 2017 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Malta Marathon 2017 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
Malta Marathon 2017 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)

Sunday November 13th 2016 I ran the Athens Classical Marathon in Greece. The route celebrated the 120 anniversary since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and the first modern marathon on this very same route with the spectacular finish on the marble Panathenaic Stadium.

Athens City
It was a special thing to visit the famous Akropolis the very week of the election of Mr. Trump in America. Let us remind ourselves that the principles of Democracy have outlasted many single individuals and “trends” during the past 2500 years since the principles were founded on these very premises in Greece. our stay was way too short to get around all the historical sites of Athens but we got a smell of it so to speak. The original greek food is very nice, grilled feta being our new favorite.

Athens Classical Marathon 2016
The Athens Classical Marathon is a point-to-point marathon in the same manner as in eg. Boston and Lisbon. The route takes you from the village/area “Marathon” (!) to the centre of Athens – find links on the historical aspects of the race in my report below. It is not an easy won marathon as you have to struggle with quite a number of hills and heightmeters, and it can become a bit monotonous just to run “straight ahead” all the time with almost the identical view all the time. Well, it felt like that sometimes. Anyways, the finish was very emotional and breathtaking and for this and the whole history connected with the Athens Classical Marathon, I guess this race should be on your resume as a marathoneer. For sure, the organisation of this surprisingly large event (17.000 on marathon, 50.000 in toto) was just perfect !

However, Athens Classical Marathon 2016 did, of course, have it’s special moments.

See or relive Athens Classical Marathon 2016 here (and in greek):

Athens Classical Marathon 2016 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Athens Classical Marathon 2016 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Athens Classical Marathon 2016 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
アテネクラシックマラソン2016 – TorのRønnowの写真（日本
Athens Classical Marathon 2016 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Athens Classical Marathon 2016 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Athens Classical Marathon 2016 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Athens Classical Marathon 2016 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)
Athens Classical Marathon 2016 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)