Cruise holiday for keen runners

If you’re a runner, or somebody in your family is keen on jogging then the Great Alaskan Marathon cruise could be just the summer holiday for you. Seven nights in Alaska allows for plenty of sightseeing and some good running. It’s a fascinating concept that combines some excellent port calls for the non-runners with a structured running programme that guarantees that at the end of the cruise, participants will have run the length of an entire marathon, just not all in one go!

Sailing on Holland America’s Oosterdam, the programme begins with a two mile deck race aboard the ship itself and the has a half marathon staged in Alaska’s capital city, Juneau, a five miler in Sitka and a 10k cross country run in Ketchikan – which means that there’s something for every style of runner and everybody gets a chance to shine. There are also talks on nutrition and different forms of training.

Oosterdam is a ship to enjoy whether you’re running the decks or not – she has four lovely exterior glass-walled lifts that travel up and down and give you a superb view of the sea, and a wonderful Crow’s Nest (this is the signature entertainment area for Holland America) on deck 10. There’s a super new Lido too, if you enjoy keeping fit but just don’t want to run, and a nightclub for those cruise passengers who don’t have to be up early to take part in the next race! Sailing in July 2010 this cruise is booking up fast.