The Royal Run 21stMay, 2018- Copenhagen Denmark- A fantastic way to celebrate Crown Prince Frederik’s 50thbirthday!

I recently went to Denmark to run the Copenhagen marathon and The Royal Run. I participated in both runs and they were both amazing experiences. The Royal Run was how Prince Frederik decided to celebrate his 50thbirthday with his people. There were 70,000 people competing all over Denmark, remembering that there are only 5 million people in Denmark. He organised the run to be held over 5 cities across Denmark on the same day at different times – København/Frederiksberg    Aarhus Aalborg   Odense    Esbjerg.

 

Before the race 

Each city would have a one mile run and a 10km run. Prince Frederik would do the one mile run in every city but only the 10km run in Copenhagen. I signed up for the Copenhagen 10km run. Race time was 7pm with Prince Frederik arriving at 6.50pm to start the elite runners and then run with his people. The party atmosphere was amazing! Clink on the link here to hear Prince Frederik’s favourite song. It was a fantastic song to start a race to as well!

 

Agnes, Ole and I at the finish with our huge medals.

I was lucky to race with my cousin Ole and his daughter Agnes. We all ran our own race but somehow finished together! The run started in Frederiksberg and also finished there. It was a run that went past many famous landmarks of Copenhagen such as Tivoli Gardens, Amalienborg Castle- Nyhavn. The people lined the streets for the whole race. There was not one part of the run where there weren’t people cheering you on. It was an amazing atmosphere! Queen Margarethe was out waving at the crowds from her palace balcony, Princess Mary and her children were giving out high 5’s to people running past as well. It was a real sense of community and people being happy to be out together.

I found it inspiring and I found I was smiling the whole way. I even did a PB for the 5km and the 10km! The finish was amazing and I was somewhat disappointed to discover that I was only 10 seconds behind Prince Frederik at the finish. We all received a huge 50thbirthday medal. It was the best racing experience I have ever had. Such a positive and uplifting experience that I will never forget!

You can find out more here and watch here.

Vicki Bennett

 

 

Before the race J