Tag Archives: Tor Rønnow

Egyptian Marathon 2025

Friday January 10th 2025 I ran the Egyptian Marathon in Egypt. Find below my full race coverage from this marathon and superb tourist impressions from both the Great Pyramid in Giza and from Luxor.

Cairo and the Pyramids in Giza
My trip started out with an evening in Cairo, ie. more precisely in Giza, even more precisely: Hotel Great Pyramid Inn, where I sat eating on the balcony on the 5th floor overlooking the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Sphinx, just an incredible experience!

Egyptian Marathon 2025 (Egypt) - Tor Rønnow

Luxor and the Valley of Kings
It was a very short day, but we managed to see quite a lot: Luxor is just mindblowing! We started off with the Hatshepsut Temple, that followed by the Colossi of Memnon, the (Habu) Temple of Ramesses III and, importantly – the main attraction – the Valley of the Kings. There, we saw the tombs of Merenptah (KV 8), Tutankhamun (!, KV 62), Ramses V/VI (KV 9), Ramses III (KV 11) and the majestic Sety 1 (KV 17), just out of this world extraordinary experiences! To wander the history of the past like 3500 years is just, well, I cannot find the words for it but I am truly grateful to have seen all these sites (it will take some time to digest and further investigate). OK, so in the evening I saw also the Karnak Temple by night, another complete and overwhelming feat of the Old Egyptians, thier Gods and Pharaohs. Brilliant stuff!

Egyptian Marathon 2025 (Egypt) - Tor Rønnow

Egyptian Marathon 2025
The event carried a multitude of distances: marathon, half marathon (Luxor Run), Ramses Run (12 K) and Hatshepsut Run (5K). The marathon was four times the same loop, there were some height meters in the mix and the Sun took a toll on us slower runners as well, but overall a fine experience, well organized for sure. Oh, and in the morning: the balloons! Oh my! There were big and so many of them. Spectacular! I’d say that this marathon is not to be missed, ie. the context of the event not to be missed; Luxor!

Egyptian Marathon 2025 (Egypt) - Tor Rønnow

See or relive the Egyptian Marathon 2025 here (and in Arabic)

Egyptian Marathon 2025 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Egyptian Marathon 2025 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)
Egyptian Marathon 2025 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Egyptian Marathon 2025 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
2025 年埃及馬拉松 – 圖片/照片由 Tor Rønnow 拍攝(中文)
エジプトマラソン2025 – 画像・写真:Tor Rønnow(日本語)
Egyptian Marathon 2025 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Egyptian Marathon 2025 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Egyptian Marathon 2025 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Egyptian Marathon 2025 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)

Islamabad Marathon 2025

Sunday January 26th 2025 I ran the Islamabad Marathon in Pakistan. Find below my full race coverage from this marathon and superb tourist impressions from Islamabad.

Islamabad City and Landmarks
During my short visit in Islamabad, I joined a Viator-trip “Top Ten Wonders of Islamabad Guided City Tour” showcasing all the major landmarks of Islamabad, a brilliant way to see the city indeed! Whilst the Pakistan monument (constructed to symbolize the unity of the nation, covering a total area of 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres), located on a famous hill knows as Shakarparyaan) and the Faisal Mosque (located on the foothills of Margalla Hills in Islamabad is one of the biggest mosque in Pakistan – can accommodate about 300,000 worshipers) were spectacular, the crown of the tour was the very pictoresque Islamabad Jama Masjid Golra Sharif Mosque.

More importantly, my visit to Islamabed made me realize why Pakistan and India had to be two seperate countries. I guess I always thought of the Pakistanees as the “bad guys” after the Ghandi movie back in 1981, but after visiting Mubia (India) last year and now Islamabad, I deeply sense why these people / tribes / religions / cultures cannot co-exist, not putting any blame, just gaing a profound hinsight on the matter. This widsom alone justifies the visit to Islamabad/Pakistan and I am very humble and grateful for the experiences!

Islamabad Marathon 2025 (Pakistan) - Tor Rønnow

Islamabad Marathon 2025
The event carried a multitude of distances: marathon, half marathon, kids fun run, 10K and 5K, thus quite a big thing. On the positive side: everybody were very friendly and helpful, very nice atmosphere before and during the race, everybody were allowed to finish (ie. no 6 hour time limit upheld) and, most importantly, the event is a unique possibility to visit Islamabad and Pakistan. I’ll warmly recommend the Islamabad Marathon, see for yourself in the race report below. Whilst the overall experience of the event was “good”, I will also gently put forward these points for improvement to professionalize the event and maximize the positive experiences in the future:
1. Put forward (and in good time) more clear pre-race communication on logistics, route, etc.
2. Increase the toilet capacity by a factor of 10 plus add at least 4 “toilet stations” en route
3. Post the results online after the race maximum 2 days after the race; use netto times
4. Make the agreements with the authorities and police about road closures etc. such that the races start at the announced times

Islamabad Marathon 2025 (Pakistan) - Tor Rønnow

See or relive the Islamabad Marathon 2025 here (and in Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Arabic)

Islamabad Marathon 2025 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Islamabad Marathon 2025 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)
Islamabad Marathon 2025 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Islamabad Marathon 2025 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
2025 年伊斯蘭堡馬拉松 – 圖片/照片由 Tor Rønnow 拍攝(中文)
イスラマバードマラソン2025 – 画像・写真:Tor Rønnow(日本語)
Islamabad Marathon 2025 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Islamabad Marathon 2025 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Islamabad Marathon 2025 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Islamabad Marathon 2025 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)

Tirana Marathon 2024

Sunday October 20th 2024 I ran the Tirana Marathon in Albania. Find below my full race coverage from this marathon and a few tourist impressions from Tirana.

Tirana City
I enjoyed half a weekend in Tirana, Albania, where I managed to visit a few landmarks, most notably the Bunk’art 1 and Bunk’art 2 museums / bunkers, bearing witness to the atrocities of WWII and the thereafter following Sovjet regime. On the lighter side, it was a pleasure to experience the relaxed night life and the famous Skanderbeg Square of Tirana.

Tirana Marathon 2024 (Albania) - Tor Rønnow

Tirana Marathon 2024
The event carried a multitude of distances: marathon, half marathon, 10 and 5K, thus quite a big thing in Albania, which is amongst the poorest of the European countries. Anyways, the marathon route was two times the half marathon, a quite tough tour around the city centre plus the Tirana Grand Park, at the latter the “modern cobblestones” killed our legs! There was some confusion on what the time limit was and in general this event should step up it’s game when it comes to communication both before, during and after the race day.

Tirana Marathon 2024 (Albania) - Tor Rønnow

See or relive the Tirana Marathon 2024 here (and in Albanian and Greek)

Tirana Marathon 2024 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Tirana Marathon 2024 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)
Tirana Marathon 2024 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Tirana Marathon 2024 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
2024 年地拉那馬拉松 – 圖片/照片由 Tor Rønnow(中文)提供
ティラナマラソン 2024 – 画像/写真 by Tor Rønnow (日本語)
Tirana Marathon 2024 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Tirana Marathon 2024 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Tirana Marathon 2024 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Tirana Marathon 2024 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)

Chisinau Marathon 2024

Sunday September 29th 2024 I ran the Chisinau Marathon in Moldova. Find below my full race coverage from this marathon and a few tourist impressions from Chisinau.

Chisinau City
I enjoyed half a weekend in Chisinau, Moldova, and had some nice walks in the beautiful city parks alongside passing various landmarks, notably the Cathedral, the Triumph Arc and such near the major streets and restaurant areas. However, I will mostly remember Chisinau for the chessplayers at one of the central squares, I spend a lot of time with them, firstly beating them up Saturday night, secondly taking the punches myself Sunday, this to the now 5 time city champion (!), Artiom Ghidicov of Moldova. It is unfortunately rare to find chess in the streets anywhere now, so a very nice asset of Chisinau indeed.

Chisinau Marathon 2024 (Moldova) - Tor Rønnow

Chisinau Marathon 2024
The event carried a multitude of distances: marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K, fun run 1.5K, kids “marathon (400-2000m), roller marathon, the latter causing some concerns of safety on the race day as the rollers were on the route together with everybody else. Anyways, it was a fine event, the full marathon took 4 rounds including a nasty incline on the highway. So despite a principally easy route the course combined with the increasing temperatures throughout the morning the tasks of the day somehow drained your energy, this could be seen on almost all the marathoneers on the final round.
A special congratulations to fellow Marathon Globetrotter Muantawan Pei Arsrairas for completing her marathon country no. 100 this Sunday in Moldova, hats off for an impressive “career”.

Chisinau Marathon 2024 (Moldova) - Tor Rønnow

See or relive the Chisinau Marathon 2024 here (and in Romanian and Russian)

Chisinau Marathon 2024 – billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Chisinau Marathon 2024 – bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)
Chisinau Marathon 2024 – bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Chisinau Marathon 2024 – pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
2024 年基希訥烏馬拉松 – 圖片/照片由 Tor Rønnow(中文)提供
キシナウマラソン 2024 – 画像/写真 by Tor Rønnow (日本語)
Chisinau Marathon 2024 – photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Chisinau Marathon 2024 – foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Chisinau Marathon 2024 – fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Chisinau Marathon 2024 – beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)

Turkmenistan Challenge 2024

Sunday Octoberber 27th 2024 I ran the Ashgabat Marathon in Turkmenistan. Find below my full race coverage from this marathon and a few tourist impressions from the white city of Ashgabat.

Ashgabat
Ashgabat is the capital of Turkmenistan and a city build in white marble! I missed the city tour Saturday (flight delay from Copenhagen) but managed Sunday to see the Old Nisa, the Turkmenbashy Ruhy Mosque and the Turkmen State Circus, including the fameous horses of Turkmenistan. The report carries, though, a number of pictures from prominent landmarks in Ashgabat, kindly lend to me by the other runners. We can say for sure: you will not find anything like Ashgabat anywhere in the world! All the cars are white and the impressively well-gardened streets and sights are – empty!

Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 - Tor Rønnow

Ashgabat Marathon 2024
This is from my Facebook post on the topic: “So, my trip was destroyed by a plane delay Friday night, so I missed the whole first day in the “white city”, Ashgabat. Boarded on the evening plane then from Istanbul Saturday, landing 03.00 AM local time in Adhgabat, then 1.5 hours very slow visa procedure, at the hotel at 05.00 AM Sunday morning, 22 hours later than planned. The marathon started Sunday at 06.00 AM (!!!). I somehow managed to put a mental approach together, perhaps in defiance of all the troubles, and let the body go. Losing 15 mins underway to toilet procedures, I booked 5.06 on a route measured a tad long, 43,7 km on my Garmin.”

Ashgabat Marathon - Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 - Tor Rønnow

Gates of Hell 10K
Monday, the day after the marathon, we drove 274 km out of Ashgabat to run a 10K race at the Gates of Hell, the Darvaza gas crater that puts up a spectacular sight at night time, looking like Mordor from the Lords of the Rings. It was great fun to run in the desert sand and a truly unique experience to see the crater glowing up in the dark.

Gates of Hell 10K - Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 - Tor Rønnow

See or relive the Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 here (and in Turkmen and Russian)

Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 2024- billeder/fotos af Tor Rønnow (Danish)
Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 2024- bilder av Tor Rønnow (Svenska)
Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 2024- bilder von Tor Rønnow (Deutsch)
Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 2024- pictures by Tor Rønnow (English)
土庫曼斯坦挑戰賽 2024 2024 – 圖片/照片由 Tor Rønnow(中文)提供
トルクメニスタン チャレンジ 2024 2024 – 画像/写真 by Tor Rønnow (日本語)
Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 2024- photos de Tor Rønnow (Français)
Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 2024- foto di Tor Rønnow (Italiano)
Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 2024- fotos del Tor Rønnow (Español)
Turkmenistan Challenge 2024 2024- beelden van Tor Rønnow (Nederlandse)