Cait's Copenhagen Marathon Weekend

It seems that even weekends when I am going away for a quick city break, I cannot escape marathons. Last weekend (19th-22nd May 2017) I headed to Denmark for a weekend break in Copenhagen. My boyfriend just so happened to be taking part in the Copenhagen Marathon whilst we were out there (yes, I was slightly jealous I wasn’t running!). So after an amazing weekend, I thought I would tell you guys all about it!

Friday
Just like a Choose a Challenge marathon weekend we departed from London early Friday afternoon arriving into Copenhagen early that evening. Heading straight for the city centre we purchased a 72-hour travel card for 200DKK (£23.17) this would allow us to use all types of public transport in the city throughout our stay. We mainly used the tube and the metro.

For me, everything revolves around eating good food whilst away so we head straight for Torvehallerne which was en route to our accommodation. Torvehallerne (right by Norreport Metro Station) is one of many food halls where there are over 60 food stands serving all types of food and drinks. It is also the perfect place to grab food and watch the sun go down on the Dronning Louises Bridge. We shared a plate of Sushi from Sushi lovers and also grabbed a pizza from Gorm. Torvehallerne has everything, not just food to go! From fresh fish stands, local butcher stalls, seasonal vegetables, and alcoholic beverages. It’s a food lovers dream!

Where I stayed? 
I stayed in an Airbnb just out of the city centre about a 10-minute walk from Norrebro.

Saturday
As this, for me at least, was a holiday I had a well-deserved lie in before grabbing a coffee and heading to the marathon expo. Situated right next to FC. Kobenhavn the expo consisted of a range of large marquee-style tents. After picking up the race bib and finisher’s t-shirt we wandered around the stalls at the expo. There were stalls from Nike, New Balance, and Nutramino. Which was my favourite stall as it had its own DJ and lots of free tasters of different protein bars. Of course, there was the wall of names, a feature of most marathon expos, with the task of finding your name among the 10,000 plus runners. 

The city itself feels very European with the streets and their cycle lanes reminding me of Amsterdam. After the expo, we grabbed a danish pastry (of course!) and headed to Rosenborg Castle which houses the crown jewels of Denmark. Whilst we didn’t go inside we did spend some time in the King’s Gardens watching the guards and other tourists have a photo shoot in front of the castle.

Luckily, I have a friend who lives in Copenhagen who recommended lots of food places to try over the weekend. One of which was on Papirøen, translating as Paper Island, which is where we headed for a late lunch. Housing a street food market, you are spoilt for choice with food from all over the world. I wandered around the building at least twice before deciding what to have. I went to Fala-Fala and grabbed a falafel, pita and chips with hummus. And for dessert, we shared a traditional Danish apple cake from Ishytten.  We ate outside the food hall in the sunshine overlooking the city’s waterfront. It is definitely a place you could spend all afternoon.

We ambled back across the river via Nyhavn, originally the commercial port in Copenhagen and now the classic Copenhagen shot with old restored houses alongside. We walked almost 10km and in hindsight should maybe have hired bikes considering the marathon was the following day. On the way back to our apartment we grabbed ingredients and cooked up a big bolognese to eat on the balcony in preparation for Sunday.

Sunday
The marathon in Copenhagen starts at 9.30am in Island Brygge in the south of the city, it finishes here too. Everything was very clearly laid out at the start line and I waved goodbye before heading off to watch the race. The Copenhagen marathon is very much a city centre race and in good news for the runners, it is completely flat. Being in the city centre I was easily able to support my boyfriend along the course. I must say that trying to pick 1 person in a race of 10,000 people is a lot harder than picking out our teams! You can check out the race course here. I went to the following points: 1km, 12km, 21km, 28km, 30km and the finish line. Of course, throughout the race, there was the most amazing atmosphere, the usual fancy dress, and guys showing off doing push-ups at every km.

After the race, we spent some time down on the river taking photos and relaxing before slowing making our way back across town to our accommodation. Where we simply crashed for the evening and watch a film with some celebratory beers. 

Monday
Whilst my boyfriend was struggling to walk I was determined to see some final parts of the city. But first brunch. Those who know me, know that I love my eggs and avocado for breakfast on the weekend. We headed to another recommended place called Cafe Alma. Brunch in Denmark tends to be tapas style. Lots of little plates of different things. 5 brunch items cost around £15 and were super yummy. I recommend the blueberry pancakes and blood orange with coconut. 

We then wandered over to the see one of the main tourist sites in Copenhagen, the Little Mermaid. A bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen based on the fairytale the Little Mermaid. It is small but well worth a wander up to see. We then headed back to towards the centre of the city and as the weather was so beautiful we grabbed some fresh juices from a great little place called the Big Apple (which had the most amazing decor) and chilled in one of the cities many parks before heading back to the airport.

Copenhagen as a city is beautiful and you find that you can wander around and stumble across the tourist sites without having to plan your time to make sure you see them all. The marathon day itself, of course, is amazing with crowds lining the streets and confetti cannons so that you feel like you are the centre of attention (even if your legs want to give up). It is a place I already want to go back to and I am already eying up the Copenhagen Marathon 2018.