Marathon at sea
Running a marathon on the open sea – is that at all possible? As a matter of fact, it is! I ran one with a group of runners who shared my fondness of experiences with a difference. Not only did we run on the water, we also did so on my birthday. This meant I had run marathons on my birthday two years in a row, because I had run the same distance the previous year in Malta.
A unique event
In the summer of 2003, Adventure Marathon announced the launch of the new, entirely different kind of run. This time it would not be a particularly tough run although it would definitely stand out from the rest. Unlike earlier runs, this would not be a recurring event, but a one-off job.
The Danish West Indies
The marathon was to be run on board the Norwegian Cruise Lines’ flagship, the S/S Norway, as she sailed the stretch of water between Miami in Florida and St Thomas in the former Danish West Indies. The artificial course on the Olympics deck was 444 metres long and would thus be run 95 times.
Built in 1962, the S/S Norway was the world’s biggest cruise liner at the time. Some 350 metres in length with a crew of 1,000, it could accommodate 2,000 passengers.
During the cruise, we would be going ashore on St Thomas, one of Denmark’s former colonies. We would also be calling in at St Maarten, which is the smallest piece of land in the world to be shared by two nations, since France and the Netherlands have a piece each.
The idea that became a reality
In December 2002, Peter Fredberg was in Southampton in the South of England for the world premiere of the luxury cruise liner, Norwegian Dawn, about which he was to write an article. On a tour of the ship, Peter came onto the upper deck, where he saw a round track with an artificial surface. He could see its potential and subsequently wrote an article “What about a marathon at sea?” This article was obviously read in Oslo because Peter later got a call. It turned out that representatives of the shipping company wanted to come to Copenhagen for preliminary talks about the idea. Søren Rasmussen was also informed, and the meeting took place at the Albatros Travel office at Kultorvet, in Copenhagen. Albatros Travel had at that time never been involved in cruises, and this was the beginning of an entirely new market for the travel agency.
Tried that before
This would not, however, be the world premiere of a marathon at sea. A few years previously, a group of marathon runners had been on a journey to the Antarctic to run the classic distance there, but because of bad weather they had been unable to get ashore to complete the mission they had travelled so far to accomplish. Some creative souls among them came up with the idea of measuring up the ship and organising a run on board. On the little Russian icebreaker, they ran up and down the steps and in and out of the saloon. The participants had to take it in turns running as well as counting laps for each other. There is no doubt that the marathon must have been quite irksome to run, but probably also quite fun. And most important of all, the runners succeeded in putting the distance behind them while they were geographically located on the White Continent.
Change of plan
I immediately took to the idea, as did Karin. We both really wanted to visit the Danish West Indies. But that was not the way it would be.
The S/S Norway had, unfortunately, been damaged and had to go into dock, for which reason the event had been transferred to a rather more exclusive boat. The route would also be different. It vexed Karin and me that we would miss a visit to St Thomas, but we still liked the idea.
Norwegian Sun
An entirely worthy alternative was found for The Great Cruise Marathon with the same shipping company, Norwegian Cruise Lines. The event would still be held in the Caribbean on an equally exciting and interesting route but on board the S/S Norwegian Sun.
The Norwegian Sun was built at the Lloyd Shipyard in Bremerhaven and launched in 2001. She is equipped with every thinkable kind of convenience, including a gym, various sports facilities and not least the excellent running track that was to be the crux of this trip. The 480-metre long track goes unbroken all the way round the ship. With its artificial surface, the track is located on deck number six, which is the least used and one where joggers will not be interrupted by swinging doors. It also has the advantage that you are not entirely exposed to the sun.
Participation goes without saying
By the time Karin and I had seen the final programme and had got over our disappointment at not visiting the Danish West Indies we were in no doubt. Of course, we were going to go. We signed up already in October 2003.
Study trip
We flew out of Copenhagen Airport on the morning of Saturday 21st February, and on this trip we were 68 travellers in the same group consisting of tourists, members of the press and organisers. It had not exactly been easy to sell this marathon trip. It was, therefore, arranged in collaboration with the weekly glossy magazine Se & Hør, whose readers were offered a discount. So a good number of people in the group had no background in the marathon sport whatsoever and were just going on a lovely cruise in the Caribbean. As it turned out, however, this was not a disadvantage at all.
A flying visit to the capital – then on to Florida
After eight hours in the air we arrived at the United States capital, Washington DC. We had to get our skates on here because we had to check our baggage out and then in again before departing on a domestic flight within an hour. Everything went according to plan, however, and we arrived two and a half hours later in Miami, Florida.
Hotel hassles
We arrived at the Fairfield Inn & Suites just before 9 p.m. but here various problems arose for the group. We were fortunately not affected. Some people’s luggage had been left stranded in Washington, whilst others couldn’t have their rooms. The former was the kind of thing that happens, which you can do nothing about, but the latter had to do with both a lack of professionalism and poor service on the part of the hotel. After a very long journey, some people had to sit at the reception for several hours before being shown to their rooms.
Morning in Miami
We didn’t get much sleep because at 7 a.m. a group of us went on a morning run along the beach down to Gianni Versace’s house on Ocean Drive. It was in front of this very house that he was shot on 15th July 1997.
After breakfast, an information meeting was held outdoors, after which we had a couple of hours to sniff around town on our own.
Reassuring security check
At around midday, we headed for the harbour, where one huge cruise ship after the other lay by the quayside and our “Norwegian Sun” was no less impressive than the others. It was actually the first time we had been on such a big cruise ship, and it was fun to note how similar check-in security was to that at an airport. Our luggage was scanned, and everyone had to walk through a metal detector. During the registration, we were all photographed, and each given a card to be used partly for boarding and disembarking, partly as a cabin key, and partly as a means of payment. We had to pay a deposit by credit card. This proved to be both effective and rather clever. The first thing they did was to draw an amount to cover tips. That amount was standard, so that was over and done with!
We got an excellent cabin on deck five. Fortunately, we had booked a cabin with a window with a view of the sea on our voyage. That was money well spent.
Restaurants for every taste
Then it was time for lunch, and the ship had one attractive restaurant after the other, nine in all. There was something for every taste, including fish, French cuisine and sushi, to mention but a few. In addition to that, there were no fewer than 11 bars and cafes to choose from and you could, of course, order room service. Food and restaurants were included in the price, while drinks and room service were charged to your card.
We ate together with Anita and Flemming, whom we had known from previous trips. They were among those whose suitcases had disappeared in Washington and had not yet come on board. Fortunately, Flemming was wearing his running shoes, but he had to borrow running clothes and other garments for a few days until his suitcase turned up at one of the destinations along the route.
Oh no you don’t
We also had a problem with our suitcases, although that was our own fault. When we arrived at the cabin, where our luggage was supposed to have been delivered, two suitcases were missing. At the reception, we were referred to a place, where our suitcases stood with a red band wrapped around them. It turned out that security had found a couple of bottles we had bought duty-free to enjoy in our cabin. But that was not permitted. We had to hand over the bottles and get a receipt, so that we could get them back at the end of the cruise.
Evacuation exercise
Later in the afternoon, came the obligatory evacuation exercise. The alarm went, and we had to assemble at point H wearing a life jacket. Here we were given various instructions about any possible evacuation to the lifeboats.
Everybody took part
Monday was both run day and my birthday. I had been given my birthday present at home, but Karin had brought an extra surprise along which I was given before breakfast.
After breakfast, it was time to pick up my start number and get ready for the day’s race which was due to start at nine. Quite a few of our fellow travellers were not runners, although it would turn out that everybody was very enthusiastic about the day’s event. Actually, I think everyone had signed up for one distance or other. Apart from the marathon, there were the half-marathon and a 4.8 kilometre run. It was all a question of how many laps people had to complete. Because we had the whole day at our disposal, there was a lot of interest in either walking or running. One of the runners had recently undergone hip surgery, but even so he walked 4.8 kilometres with a stick in one hand and the other on the railing. He later said with a twinkle in his eye that if they had given him a cloth he could have polished the railings as he went along.
Chip count
Thomas Thomsen of the Danish Athletics Association had measured the course, so it fully complied with all requirements. We marathon runners were to do 88 laps minus a chunk of 45 metres. For this reason, we started 45 metres after the finish, which we then had to cross 88 times. Ultimate Sport Service was there to ensure accurate timekeeping.
The chip-based accounting system was a bit of a problem because the metal in the deck caused a conflict between the transmitters and the receiver. In the end they put the measuring mat on the table and the runners wore the chips around their wrists. So all we had to do was to remember to pass the wrist over the mat every time we had completed a lap. A bit further along, there was a TV screen where you could see how many laps you had done and how many you had to go. It was all quite simple.
Chlorinated water
Bodil Thomsen was responsible for the run’s water station, and shortly after the run had begun she became aware of the fact that the water tanks they had set up contained chlorinated water. She, therefore, had to stop Thomas, who at that time was running his 4.8 kilometres. The issue was resolved by replacing the tanks with mineral water in plastic bottles.
Party, party
The run began along one of the sides of the ship. There were soft turns at the bows and stern, and at the finish there were refreshments, water and fruit. It was also here that most of the spectators stood cheering as we ran past. A music system had also been set up with festive tones from the home country emanating from the loudspeakers. During many marathons, there are long stretches where the runners are alone and there are no onlookers. Here we were never even half a kilometre away from our loved ones with hugs and loving taunts. It was a highly festive occasion, and by no means boring and monotonous.
On the other side of the ship, there was a station serving energy drinks. Never before have I participated in a run with such a short distance between the refreshment points.
The ship’s other passengers were curious to see what this peculiar phenomenon was. They stood agape, staring through portholes, windows and door openings while a flock of crazy Danes ran round and round.
It goes without saying that the course was quite flat, although there was an Internet in one place which you didn’t notice during the first of many laps. The sea was quite smooth, and there was only a slight breeze which was very refreshing for a sweaty face. To begin with, there were quite a few runners. Fifteen of us were running a marathon, seven a half marathon and 25 were to run 4.8 kilometres. So when the 4.8-kilometre runners had finished, followed a while later by those running the half-marathon, we marathon runners were the only ones left.
The marathon runners eventually began to cross the line. After his very special wedding to Majbritt in Tibet, Jørn was now spending his honeymoon winning The Great Cruise Marathon with a time of 3:20:26. I was fortunate to accompany him on his last half lap, so I experienced his victory and medal presentation. At that time, I still had 30 laps to go.
Trials and tribulations
During the run, my right foot started hurting, and I changed to new running shoes. This helped for a while, but the pain returned, and I had to change back. This repeated itself several times.
As the day drew on, it got baking hot on the side of the ship where the finish was and where we now could see the coast of Cuba on the horizon. Meanwhile, there was shade on the other side of the ship, and it was nice and cool. When I still had about 15 laps to go, I was pretty worn out and began to switch between walking and running. I walked along the side of the ship, where there was shade and ran along the other, where the afternoon sun had taken over. In this way, I also enjoyed the roar of the spectators as I passed through the finish area.
Loving company
When I had two and a half laps left to go, Karin met me and ran a lap and a half with me. Then she stopped to film me as I crossed the line. She had run the short distance in fine style in sandals because she didn’t have any running shoes with her on the trip. In actual fact, Karin ran 5.28 kilometres, but during the first lap her chip was on the wrong wrist, so it was not recorded. She then continued to run ten laps, all of which were recorded properly.
After I had completed the run in 5:24.16, we went to the bar for well-earned refreshments, and then I took a one-hour nap.
Champagne
In the early evening, champagne was served in the reception area for all the passengers. The ship was almost a city in itself with no fewer than 12 decks and countless facilities. Apart from the many restaurants and bars, there were two swimming pools with spas, a large gym, a church, hairdresser, shops, theatre, disco, casino and various forms of entertainment.
Gala dinner
At nine in the evening, there was a gala dinner for the marathon group in one of the ship’s restaurants. We had good food, speeches were made and tributes were paid to some for noble acts of some kind or another. Later in the evening, the Danish actor, Lars Bom, entertained us with songs by the Beatles.
A little before midnight, Karin and I went up to retire, but just before we got to our cabin, I discovered that I had left my rucksack, so we had to go back to the restaurant.
Lars Bom sings a birthday song
By the time we came back up to get my rucksack, it wasn’t my birthday any more, technically speaking, because it was past midnight, but when one of the guests shouted a birthday greeting and people realised I had run on my birthday, we weren’t allowed to disappear again. Lars Bom took the lead, but the whole company got to their feet and sang “Happy Birthday”. Thomas then got up and told them that not only had I run on my birthday, but that I had also run my 25th marathon on my 45th. After this we retired to bed exhausted.
Jamaica
Next morning, we laid to at the luxuriant Caribbean island of Jamaica in Montego Bay. On the south side of the island lie some of the world’s most beautiful beaches at Negril, and if you head for the unrivalled Dunn’s River Falls you will experience lush forests and have the opportunity to go rafting. Our itinerary didn’t allow for this, however. Our first stop was with a “bush doctor”, a local herb doctor who made medicines and wine from home-grown fruits, all of which were cultivated without the use of chemicals.
Then we visited a local school with children in the three-to-six age group and were received by some incredibly sweet kids. There were 28 of them in a very small room and perhaps 80 in all at the school. They were learning the letters of the alphabet, and what they sound like, already as infants. They were doing really well.
We spent the rest of the day looking around town, and those who wanted, went to the beach. This was, however, not a beautiful sandy beach but one covered with large stones.
Grand Cayman
On Wednesday, we visited Grand Cayman, the largest of three Cayman Islands. It is best known for its shell corporations, dodgy banks, and as a tax haven. But it is also a genuine luxury holiday island with high price levels.
The locals are convinced that they have the world’s best beach, Seven Mile Beach, and apart from that, the island is especially well-known for two natural phenomena: great sea turtles and vast numbers of stingrays which literally swim about between the legs of the bathers and allow themselves to be stroked on their velvety skin.
The Norwegian Sun was unable to dock at the island, so we were ferried ashore in smaller boats. Several cruise ships were visiting that day, so there was a welter of tourists and locals everywhere.
Hell
Our first visit was to an area known as Hell, where rock-like corals had developed which, with a little imagination, could resemble the fires of hell. But it was just a load of tourist hogwash and had actually harmed this natural tourist attraction. Among other things, you could stick your head through a hole in a figure and be photographed as the Devil himself, and in the shop you could buy all sorts of distasteful things with Hell and the Devil on them. One of the sales staff asked what the hell we were doing here. It might have been fun to look at, but it was all so vulgar.
Turtle farm
After this rather inanely dejection, we were driven to another place which we weren’t particularly thrilled by, either. At Cayman Turtle Farm, we went to see turtles kept in small swimming pools in broad sunlight. We didn’t think the conditions could be particularly pleasant for the creatures, which were constantly being picked up and photographed by and with tourists. No doubt it provided excellent tourism income, but we couldn’t see the animal welfare aspect of it.
The final visit on the island was a trip to the town, which didn’t engender much enthusiasm either. Again, income from tourists was more important than anything else.
My description of our visit to Grand Cayman can be interpreted as quite a disappointment, but that was not the case. We had quite a nice day, but simply felt that this island paradise had been ruined by commercialism and was completely different than it could have been.
Relaxation on Norwegian Sun
After our visit with rather mixed impressions of Grand Cayman we spent a cosy relaxed afternoon and evening on the ship with good food and drink.
Costa Maya
After a Thursday morning by the ship’s pool in a stiff wind, we docked just after lunch in Costa Maya on the south side of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The peninsula is reputed for its gorgeous beaches with shimmering white coral sand, clear azure blue seawater and its colourful coral reefs. The Maya ruins at Tulum are beautifully situated and provide an excellent impression of Maya architecture.
After the worst disembarkation chaos had subsided, we left the ship and walked straight into a nondescript touristy area, so we decided to go for a walk along the beach to a local village, where we drank a beer before heading back. Near the harbour we visited an Internet café and bought a few postcards before going back on board the Norwegian Sun.
We spent our evening at “Las Ramblas Tapas Bar & Restaurant” for hors d’oevres on deck 12 followed by dinner in the “Seven Seas Restaurant” on deck five.
Cozumel
On the Friday, we visited Cozumel, a delightful Caribbean island only 16 kilometres off the mainland. The island came into being because the rock sea bed rose some 15 metres above sea level. The scenery on this, Mexico’s biggest Caribbean island, is wonderful. Some 47 kilometres long by 15 wide, it was inhabited by the Maya from 300 AD. Most of the island is wild and uncultivated, with swamp, scrub and extensive coastal rail forest with outstanding fauna, including parrots, herons, giant lizards and coati. Most tourists come here to bathe, snorkel and relax on the island’s kilometre-long sandy beaches surrounded by coral reefs with colourful fish darting among them.
A morning at the beach
There were many tourist attractions on offer on the island, but we decided to have a relaxing day on our own. We took a taxi to a beach, where it was possible to swim with dolphins, but because this activity cost a fortune we chose to lie on the beach and relax before returning to the ship for lunch.
In mid-afternoon, we disembarked again and visited the small, rather touristy town. Six other cruise ships were in the area on that day, so there were masses of people. Like most other places it was all just a bit too touristy, but fun all the same.
A strange intermission
That evening we were sitting on a bench on the jetty by the steps to the ship. We were just sitting there enjoying the view, watching the world go by in the delightfully cool air after a day under the blazing sun. Along the jetty came a man with a smile on his face and a cardboard box containing a pizza he had bought in town. It was obvious that he was really looking forward to enjoying his Italian meal in his cabin on board. We smiled for two reasons. For one thing, all food on board was included in the price and there were many restaurants, including an Italian one. For another, it had been made blatantly clear that food was neither to be brought on nor taken off board. We just sat there wondering what would happen. Of course, the deliciously smelling cardboard box did not make it through the tough security check, and the hungry tourists was given the choice between throwing the pizza away and sitting on the jetty to eat it there. He chose the latter.
At around 6:30 p.m. we went back on board the ship – for the last time on this trip. First we went up to find some fruit, after which we went to our cabin and took a shower in preparation for the evening meal.
Karaoke
We ended our cosy evening with good food at the “Four Seasons Restaurant” at the bar on deck 12. Here we were entertained with karaoke until retiring to bed in the small hours.
Great Cruise Home Run Mini Marathon
We now approached the end of our voyage in the Caribbean and spent all day Saturday bound for Miami. After everyone had digested their morning meal, the whole group gathered for a Great Cruise Home Run Mini Marathon of 4.8 kilometres. Almost everybody took part, and Karin and I ran together, giving ourselves plenty of time to enjoy this pleasant run.
Social finale
After a shower, we all met up on the terrace on deck 11 for a lunch get-together and the presentation of awards for our efforts.
We spent the afternoon packing our bags and relaxing before meeting the others early in the evening for our last evening meal at the “Seven Seas Restaurant”. More or less everyone turned out for these pleasant few hours together. One couple was celebrating their silver wedding, and we sang for them. One of the participants had written a farewell song, and Peter Fredberg distributed prizes from a raffle. It was a really nice evening after a fantastic week.
Delayed disembarkation
On that infrequent date, Sunday 29th February, we got up early to get ready to disembark at 6.15 a.m. Before that we had to finish packing, have breakfast and pick up the bottles we had had to hand over on embarkation as well as our passports, which we had deposited in the Stardust Lounge.
We felt a bit of a laughing stock standing in a long queue to register with the American immigration authorities. They were about 25 minutes behind schedule, so we just stood there waiting. It took ages for every single one of us to have our passport checked and stamped. It was rather stressful for us in the marathon group because we didn’t have much time before our flight.
An arrogant officer
As our turn got closer, we could see police officers sitting at a row of tables performing the necessary checks. They took a passport, looked at the traveller, checked the photo and other details, stamped it and gave it back. We overheard quite an arrogant conversation between two of the officers. One of them said he couldn’t be bothered to have anything to do with tourists unless he was going to arrest them. Just think, saying such a thing with people right there listening. He didn’t say a thing to the travellers, he just took their passport and gave it back when he had finished inspecting it.
I ended up in front of that very same arrogant officer. When he gave back my passport, we made eye contact, and with a smile he said: “Here you are”! I was about to make some clever remark, but then I thought it best to refrain and just get out of there.
When we thought everything was in order and we could leave the ship, we ended up standing there again waiting for “ages”. Some of the passengers had obviously not turned up at the check-out, which further delayed disembarkation. We finally got ashore, but now we really had to get our skates on to catch our plane.
Excess baggage problems
New problems arose when we got to the airport. This time, the overall weight of the group’s baggage was the issue. We swapped a few things among us so that each of us came under the set limit, but that didn’t help. We had time-keeping equipment with us from Ultimate, which weighed quite a lot. Discussion didn’t help, and we couldn’t just pay an excess baggage fee. It all ended with us leaving behind a guide and two staff from Ultimate. I checked in the guide’s baggage with my own, so I had that to deliver, too, when we got home.
A really bad decision
On the way home, we had a seven-hour stopover in Chicago. Several people decided to go into the city, but unfortunately we didn’t. Because we were afraid time would run away with us and might lead to problems trying to get back in to the airport, we decided to stay put. That was a really silly decision, and an expression of the kind of exaggerated cautiousness we ought to have overcome by then.
We thought we had arrived at a large international airport with masses of restaurants, shops and activities. But that was not the case – at least not where we were. A McDonald’s and a few shops were all they could entertain us with, at one of the world’s largest airports. We went round and looked at what little there was to see, read a bit, ate some food and slept. Seven hours is a long time to spend doing that kind of thing. We should have gone to see the city with the others.
What on earth – are you here?
By the time we landed on schedule back in Copenhagen Airport after a long journey it was Monday afternoon on 1st March. I weighed up the idea of calling Albatros Travel from the airport to arrange for delivery of the extra suitcase I had with me, but that turned out not to be necessary. When we got through customs, there stood the three people we had left behind in Miami, big smiles on their faces, and all the time-keeping equipment. Somehow or the other they had found an excellent solution not long after waving goodbye to us. They had arrived back in Copenhagen ahead of us via a route without a long wait, and everything ended happily like a proper fairy tale.
TV coverage again
As with previous marathon events, Danish TV had been on the spot again on this special trip. Their footage became a six-minute feature in a sports programme.
As was intended from the outset, The Great Cruise Marathon was a one-off job. It had been a fun, interesting trip and the run had been rather crazy, and I’m glad I decided to include it. Like other trips, it had given me some wonderful memories I would have for the rest of my days.
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