Cool places to run series: Fanning Island, Kiribati

Fanning Island

By any measure, Fanning Island is one of the most remote places on earth, an isolated speck in the vast South Pacific well over 1,000 miles south of Hawaii and more than 500 miles north of Tahiti. Fanning is part of the Republic of Kiribati (formerly the Gilberts), and its capital, Tarawa, lies far to the west, more than 2,000 miles away, with nothing but open water in between. The 1,200 residents of Fanning (or it might be 1,600 or maybe 2,000; it keeps changing and no one has made an accurate count) exist amicably in the dreamy, time-honored fashion of South Pacific paradises.

A handsome, brown-skinned people, they are polite, gentle and shy. They live in grass shacks, or, more accurately, shacks of coconut fronds and pandanus leaves. The traditional dress, for men and women, is a sarong. They live off the land and the sea: fish, coconuts, taro, pumpkin and papaya. They have no telephones, no running water, no electricity (and by extension, no computers, no television, no video games, no movies).

The only way to get here is by ship. Or when you think you can swim 800 miles, you can try to leave from Hawaii. Possible but not recommendable....I guess.

If you could run around the island, you would run 40 miles but there aer several openings in the atoll which makes it impossible to do this. 
I did half a marathon and that's as far as I could run till I reached a big opening where the currant is too strong. I did some water crossings but those were only knee-deep openings in the atoll. The people are great, all 1000 of them. 

Cool places to run series: Bermuda

Runs done in Bermuda: 
21-miles (33.5 km)
19-miles (30 km)
Applebee's Half Marathon

Bermuda is a British island territory in the North Atlantic Ocean known for its pink-sand beaches such as Elbow Beach and Horseshoe Bay.

We spend several cruises in Bermuda which gave me the opportunity to run around the island, or, part of it. 

Running around the island gives you a great view of the various well-know beaches such as Tobacco Bay near St George's or the pink sand beaches

Tobacco Bay near St George's

Pros: weather is always hot 

Cons: it's very humid and traffic is too busy. 

One event that is definitely worth it is the Bermuda Half Marathon which takes place in May. Close to 1000 runners run from Summerset Village to the finish line in downtown Hamilton. Great event to run. We were fortunate to be in Hamilton during the Bermuda Half Marathon and i was able to convince some crew to participate. The ship, Ms Veendam, was docked next to the route and whenever one of the crew passed the ship, the captain and his team blew the whistle. Uber cool....

Veendam crew getting ready to run

after the run showing off our medals

Cool places to run series: Las Vegas

Las Vegas - believe it or not, has much more to offer than just casinos.
If you haven't explored Red Rock National Conservation Area or Valley of Fire, Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam than you haven't seen Las Vegas like you should.

Runs I did in Vegas
29 Half Marathons
3 30-mile (48 km) runs
2 16-mile (25 km) runs
2 50-mile (80 km) ultra marathons
1 50-mile (80 km) on wooden shoes :)

Vegas is surrounded by beauty and here are some of my favorite running areas

Red Rock Canyon is a great way to experience running in the Mojave Desert, only 17 miles from the Strip. This 185,000 acre National Conservation Area 30 miles of trails, dirt roads, (many of them run-able), and a 13-mile Scenic Drive loop. I like the scenic loop, since it is a road and it is only a one-way lane so you don't need to worry about upcoming traffic. There are beautiful views, and the light hitting the rocks, especially early or late in the day, is a sight to see. Your best bet is to park and choose a section of the loop road, or one of the trails. The 6-mile White Rock Loop, and the 11-mile Grand Circle Loop are popular trail runs. Note: restrooms, but few other facilities once inside the park. Bring water because are no shops once you leave the entrance area. 

Lake Mead national Park
Great location for running. Not too hilly - just a few minor climbs when following the road.
The terrain looks desolate and when running alone, you indeed feel desolate and deserted. 
Not a lot of traffic once you leave the campground area at the beginning of the park.

Valley of Fire
Great area for running with some nice roads, trails and dirt roads but keep in mind that this is not close by the Strip. If you want to go for a scenic run when staying on the strip and you have a car: Red Rock is the closest park and my fave

Some stats of my runs in Vegas

the first one is my video of a 50-miler in Vegas which I ran on wooden shoes

Cool places to run series: Alaska

Alaska - my number one favorite place in the world

Runs done in Alaska:
2 marathons
17 Half Marathons

Sailing in Southeast Alaska, you come across the most pristine places and the most stunning nature; from rainforests (Tongass national rainforest by Ketchikan) to the glaciers at Glacier Bay National Park and not to forget the small towns famous for the goldrush in the 1800's

one of the stops is in Skagway where time stood still

Another stop is a the scenic town of Haines 

during my visits I've seen hundreds of whales

here are several of my photos - over the last few years I won some great prices in several competitions. If you ever need photo material from wildlife, let me know. I'm more than happy to share it with you

Via the below link you can find more of my photos
https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldimages/albums/72157618669480214


Cruise ships only visit Alaska in the summer since the winters would too cold, too rainy and too windy. Summertime in Alaska is absolutely stunning. The smell of forest, trees, fern, bark, the crisp air, the eagles, the bears, whales and killer whales; everything in Alaska is great, at least, that's how I experienced it, having sailed many seasons in this beautiful part of the world.

what is great about running in Alaska: whichever port you are, you are in nature in a matter of minutes. Tons of maintains, lakes, waterfalls and wildlife.

The places I ran in:

Juneau - Douglas Island over the bridge is a great location to run but also Perseverance Trail downtown Juneau, but, nothing beats running Mendenhall gacier; from the parking lot, follow the trail on the West side of the glacier which brings you ultimately to the ice caves. Feels like you're on a different planet

Ice caves at Mendenhall glacier

Mendenhall Glacier

Haines - From downtown following the Chilkat river

Ketchikan follow the coast in SE direction

Skagway - follow the main road to the Canadian border or follow the train track, also a great run:

Seward - follow the coast in any direction. Both are very scenic


i used to bring my camera (Canon 5D Mark III) in my backpack - here are some photos I took during my runs

Via the below link you can find more of my photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldimages

Statistics of my Alaska runs: