Around the World in 26.2 Miles26.2英里环游世界

In 2012， shortly after crossing the finish line of the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Half Marathon， Laurel Butterfield filled up on oysters and bloody marys. Her strategy was simple： “I’ll commit two hours or less to running around. I’ll get to see interesting parts of the city， and then when I’m done， I will eat everything in the city and have a great time.”

2012年，在冲过新奥尔良摇滚半程马拉松的终点线后不久，劳雷尔·巴特菲尔德大啖牡蛎，豪饮血腥玛丽鸡尾酒。她的计划很简单：“我用两小时或更短的时间跑比赛，乘机看看这座城市有趣的地方。等跑完，我就把当地美食吃个遍，好好享受一番。”

Runners who love to travel—and travelers who love to run—have been getting passports stamped and bucket lists checked one race at a time. For many， the destination race serves as an impetus to travel somewhere new and stick with a training regimen.

无论是喜欢旅行的跑步爱好者，还是喜欢跑步的旅行爱好者，他们每跑一场比赛，护照上就多盖一个章，人生心愿就又完成一项。在目的地举办的比赛成为很多人去新地方旅行和坚持执行训练计划的推动力。

The first time I ever set foot in Vermont was ostensibly to run the 2012 Mad Half1， but I didn’t care so much about my performance in the 13.1 miles as I did about visiting the Green Mountain State2.

我第一次去佛蒙特州，表面上是为了参加2012麦德半程马拉松，但我对自己在13.1英里的比赛中跑出什么成绩并不太在意，我主要是来“绿岭之州”观光的。

For me， post-race indulgence—local beer is almost always on the menu—and bragging rights （after all， it’s kind of cool to run a marathon outside your hometown） were part of the charm， more so when the BQ （Boston qualifier） I’d been chasing eluded me time and time again.

对我而言，马拉松的部分魅力在于赛后的纵情享乐（当地的啤酒基本必不可少）和吹牛的资本（在外地跑马拉松毕竟还是有点酷的）。每当想到我一次次去争取的波士顿马拉松参赛资格一次次与我擦肩而过，马拉松对我的吸引力就更大了。

Alisa Cohen， founder of Luxe Traveler Club， a boutique travel agency， said that most of her marathon-traveling clients are novice runners who like the athletic component such a vacation affords. Planning a trip around a destin-ation race “adds to the whole excitement of marathon training，” and is a great way to see a city and build a trip around it， Cohen said， noting that Paris has become a popular destination in this regard.

洛克斯旅行者俱乐部是一家精品旅行社，创始人阿莉莎·科恩说，她的马拉松旅游客户大多是跑步新手，他们喜欢此类行程提供的竞技元素。科恩表示，围绕目的地的马拉松比赛来安排旅游行程，“增强了马拉松训练的兴奋感”，也是进行城市观光并以此为中心规划行程的好方法。科恩还指出，巴黎已成为此类旅行的人气目的地。

Spencer Farrar’s first international race， in Scotland in 2006， hooked him on race travel. “A lot of my races are quite honestly determined based upon location，” said Farrar， who works for a private equity firm and splits his time between Hawaii and New York City. More and more， he said， the majority of his travel is running-related.

斯潘塞·法勒2006年在苏格兰第一次参加国际马拉松赛事，从此迷上了“赛事游”。他说：“坦白讲，许多赛事都是我看地点决定参加的。”法勒在一家私募股权公司工作，平时往返于夏威夷和纽约市。他说自己大部分的旅行安排越来越多地与跑步有关。

Farrar’s favorite race destination is South Africa， where he has run nine times and is about to run his 10th. The itinerary changes with each visit， although Farrar said he’s planning to stay in Cape Town again， one of his favorite cities， which he called a “foodie paradise，” before venturing to wine country.

法勒最喜爱的比赛目的地是南非，他已经在那里跑了9次比赛，即将迎来第10次。每次造访南非，行程都有所不同，不过法勒说他打算重返开普敦，然后去探访酒乡。开普敦是法勒最喜欢的城市之一，他称其为“吃货天堂”。

Two of New York attorney Ruth Gursky’s most memorable race travel experiences took place in Sydney and Amsterdam， respectively. “It’s fun to meet other athletes from other countries and visit new countries. I never would have gotten to Sydney， otherwise. It’s a long trip，” Gursky said.

纽约律师鲁思·古尔斯基记忆最深刻的两次“赛事游”体验分别发生在悉尼和阿姆斯特丹。古尔斯基说：“结识其他国家的运动员、游览没去过的国家，都很有意思。要不是因为比赛，我根本没机会去悉尼。路途太遥远了。”

David Killian， officer of site selection for a sports game organization， said a lot goes into choosing the games’ location. In addition to ample city support and the ability to put on the games， Killian said， “having the right destination is an important part of it.” Although his organization is not so concerned about whether the location meets the vacation criteria of participants， Killian said， “it’s been pretty hard to get people from all over the world excited about going to a small city.”

戴维·基利安是一家体育赛事组织机构的选址员。他说，在挑选比赛地点时，要考虑诸多因素。基利安表示，除了充分的市政支持和赛事承办能力外，“目的地是否合适也是一项重要因素”。他所在的机构虽然没有特别在意比赛地点是否能达到参赛者的度假标准，但基利安指出：“要激起世界各地的参赛者对前往一座小城市的兴趣，那可是相当困难。”

Doug Thurston， race director of Big Sur International Marathon， which draws runners from more than two dozen countries and all 50 states， said “building in running as kind of part of your vacation experience is more popular than ever.”

大苏尔国际马拉松吸引了二三十个国家及美国全部50个州的选手参赛。赛事总监道格·瑟斯顿说：“把跑步作为度假体验的一部分，从来没有像现在这么流行。”

Most established big-city marathons—New York， Boston， Houston， Chicago， Berlin， Tokyo， London3—take participants on a 26.2-mile tour of the city’s streets. Local restaurants will often rally behind runners， offering special pre- or post-race meals， and the communities tend to be supportive， coming out to cheer and hold signs with phrases such as， “Smile. You paid for this，” and， “This is a lot of work for a free banana，” designed to make runners smile through the miles and， often， the pain.

大城市举办的著名马拉松赛事，如纽约、波士顿、休斯顿、芝加哥、柏林、东京、伦敦的马拉松，大多会安排参赛者在26.2英里的路线中穿越城市的大街小巷。当地餐馆通常会合力支持选手，提供特制的赛前或赛后餐食。当地居民一般也很支持，他们走上街头给选手加油打气，还手举标语牌，上面写着“开心点儿，你可是花了钱的”“为了吃一根免费香蕉可真够辛苦的”等，为的是让选手心情愉悦地跑完全程，忍住常常伴有的身体疼痛。

But it’s not just the world’s biggest cities that runners are flocking to. Some of Big Sur’s participants and their accompanying families treat the race， which takes place every April on Highway 14， as their California vacation， injecting “millions and millions of dollars into tourism，” Thurston said. Houston First’s5 chief executive， Michael Heckman， echoes this sentiment in speaking about the Chevron Houston Marathon： “Signature events like these provide tremendous value to the city and local economy—particularly for nearby hotels， dining and entertainment establishments along the course， and even car-share drivers.”

然而，选手蜂拥而至的并不限于世界上的大城市。大苏尔国际马拉松每年4月沿1号公路开跑，部分参赛者及陪同家属把这项比赛当成加利福尼亚度假游，瑟斯顿说他们“给旅游业注入了大量资金”。休斯顿弗斯特公司的首席执行官迈克尔·赫克曼在谈及雪佛龙休斯顿马拉松时，表示深有同感：“像马拉松这样的标志性活动为城市及当地经济带来了巨大价值，对赛道沿线的酒店、餐饮场所、娱乐设施乃至共享汽车司机来说，更是如此。”

One of Alaska’s signature events， the Anchorage6 Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon， propelled Sally Pont to sign up and start training again. The D.C.-based college counselor said the race “wasn’t an excursion per se， but the experience of going through the whole city and then ending at the museum made me realize how the marathon was about so much more than running.”

“安克雷奇市长的午夜阳光马拉松”是阿拉斯加的标志性活动之一，萨莉·庞特受到激励报名参赛并重新开始训练。这位来自华盛顿的大学升学顾问说，参赛“本身虽然算不得一次旅行，但是穿越整座城市，然后在博物馆结束比赛，让我觉得马拉松比赛远不止跑步这么简单”。

“If I was going to do another marathon， I was going to do something cool，” Pont said of the 2003 marathon in Anchorage， where she tacked on a few extra days to enjoy a blues festival in Denali National Park and a seaplane ride out to a glacier.

谈起2003年在安克雷奇举行的马拉松比赛，庞特说她临时增添了几天行程，先去参加在迪纳利国家公园举办的蓝调音乐节，又乘坐水上飞机去观赏冰川。她说：“再参加马拉松比赛的话，我要来点儿非同一般的体验。”

Madeleine Fontillas Ronk， a sea glass7 artist who lives with her family in the Los Angeles area， similarly jumped at8 the chance to travel to Cuba in 2017 to participate in the Havana Triathlon. “We just thought we should do it now， because who knows？” Fontillas Ronk said. While Fontillas Ronk and her daughter focused on the prerace activities and the race itself， Fontillas Ronk’s husband joined other runners’ family members on a tour to museums and art galleries.

马德琳·丰蒂拉什·龙科是一位海玻璃艺术家，同家人一起住在洛杉矶地区。2017年，她也借参加哈瓦那铁人三项比赛之机，前往古巴旅游。她说：“谈不上什么原因，我们就是感觉应该立刻去。”在丰蒂拉什·龙科和女儿专心参加赛前活动及正式比赛时，她的丈夫则与其他选手的家人一起参观博物馆和美术馆。

Cuba isn’t the only destination where using a travel planner’s expertise can help eliminate the stress of planning to run the distance on foreign soil. Since 1979， Marathon Tours & Travel9 has been partnering with races around the world and assisting runners with land-based logistics， including race registration.

利用行程规划师的专业技能有助于消除出国长跑的行程规划压力，古巴并非选手可因此受益的唯一目的地。从1979年开始，“马拉松巡游与旅游”旅行社便与全世界的马拉松赛事合作，为选手提供赛事注册等现场后勤协助。

“It’s really morphed into this great group of motivated individuals who， of course， have the passion not only for running， but traveling and visiting different destinations around the globe，” said Karen Hoch， who’s been on staff for more than seven years.

卡伦·霍克已在这家旅行社工作超过7年。她说：“他们确实已成为一个庞大的群体，成员全都动力满满。他们当然不止对长跑抱有很高的热情，他们还热爱旅游，喜欢探访世界上不同的目的地。”

Butterfield calls the race the appet-izer of the trip. “Obviously， you can’t explore every single corner and neighborhood of a city， but the race gives you a map of the city，” she said. The course itself gives the seasoned runner an idea of what she wants to explore in the days following the race. The race， Butterfield said， is “the thing that whets your appetite.”

巴特菲尔德把比赛称作旅行的开胃菜。她说：“你显然没法走遍城市的每一个角落、每一个街区，但你可以通过比赛掌握城市的大致风貌。”比赛路线本身就能让这位富有经验的选手知道赛后几天要去哪里观光。按照巴特菲尔德的说法，比赛是“为了吊你的胃口”。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）

1名字源自比赛路线上的麦德河谷（Mad River Valley）。 2美国佛蒙特州的别称。

3除休斯顿国际马拉松外，其余六个即“世界六大马拉松”赛事。 4指加州1号公路，沿美国西海岸修建，沿途风景优美。 5休斯顿官方的旅游目的地营销组织。世界各国几乎所有的旅游目的地都设有旅游目的地管理机构（Destination Management Organization），并设有与政府旅游管理机构合为一体的或相对独立运作的旅游目的地营销组织（Destination Marketing Organization）。在中国，各地旅游局承担相关职能。

6美国阿拉斯加州最大的城市。 7 sea glass海玻璃，指在海水中或海滩上经长时间海水和海沙打磨后失去棱角，变得如同鹅卵石般圆滑的废弃玻璃。 8 jump at sth迫不及待地接受，欣然接受（机会、建议等）。

9波士顿马拉松的官方旅行社，致力于为参赛者提供位置优越且价格实惠的酒店、协调物流，还可保障参赛资格。