Q&A: ‘Sightseeing at 26.2 Miles at a Time’

Hannibal Hanschke/European Pressphoto Agency

Participants in the Berlin Marathon on Sept. 29.

Among the throngs of runners crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on Sunday for the New York City Marathon, a fair number of them will travel not to Boston for their next race, but to lesser-known, far-flung destinations like Napa Valley, Mont-St.-Michel, France, even the savanna of South Africa.

"Sightseeing at 26.2 miles at a time" is how Thom Gilligan of Marathon Tours & Travel described this trend of traveling to marathons.

"There's no better way to break through the touristic veneer of a destination than to participate, elbow to elbow, with local people," he said.

Below are edited excerpts from a conversation with Mr. Gilligan on traveling to marathons, notable or exotic.

Q. What should you keep in mind when traveling to a big city marathon?

A. The World Marathon Majors, which includes Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City, these are mega-races, with anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 runners. That brings a whole number of concerns like getting to the start, getting your number. In New York, for example, you have to get bused out to Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, and sometimes you're out there for two, three hours. But with that, you get the bells and whistles — music, large crowds supporting you, great finish lines, bragging rights.

Each of these events has certain requirements for entry, so you must check beforehand. London has a lottery, and an American could sign up for it, but it's a long shot because most of the places are reserved for British residents. Berlin and Tokyo have lottery systems, too.

That's why it's best to go through an international tour partner — I.T.P. — who has a block of guaranteed entries along with the packages that can include flights, hotels, sightseeing, a prerace pasta dinner. For London, we offer a minimum three-night package starting at $985 a person based on double occupancy, which includes the entry fee, but not airfare.

I.T.P.'s also get group rates on hotels, and this way you get a core group of people that you can sightsee with, train with.

Any marathons in exotic locations that you recommend?

Antarctica speaks for itself. You're running on King George Island, the largest of the South Shetland Islands, on an area called the Fildes Peninsula. It's a rough terrain; quite often you're running on ice and snow, a lot of rolling hills, steep, gnarly ups and downs.

The Safaricom Marathon in Kenya, you're running in a game reserve among the wildlife. It's hilly, a mile-high altitude, so it's cool in the morning, high 50s, and by midmorning it gets up into the low 80s. The Great Wall Marathon is another destination; the Australian Outback Marathon by Ayers Rock, another.

Do you recommend going through an operator for these far-off marathons?

Some of them, like the Great Wall and Antarctica, you have to because they are put on by travel agencies. Because of their location, there's a lot of travel details — the only way, for example, to get to Antarctica, which we host, is by chartered ship — and the agency handles those things.

Any lesser-known marathons that are worth the trip?

Reykjavik, in August, is one of those great little boutique destinations. Bermuda in January; you're running past pastel-colored homes, golf courses, bays and inlets.

Some of the security restrictions New York's marathon organizers are taking in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings include searching all bags near the course and screening family members at the finish line. Will this dampen the atmosphere? 

From what I saw at the Chicago Marathon this month, the security measures are done in a subtle way and don't take anything away from the experience.

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