Around the World in 26.2 Miles26.2英里環(huán)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，在沖過(guò)新奧爾良搖滾半程馬拉松的終點(diǎn)線后不久，勞雷爾·巴特菲爾德大啖牡蠣，豪飲血腥瑪麗雞尾酒。她的計(jì)劃很簡(jiǎn)單：“我用兩小時(shí)或更短的時(shí)間跑比賽，乘機(jī)看看這座城市有趣的地方。等跑完，我就把當(dāng)?shù)孛朗吵詡€(gè)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.

無(wú)論是喜歡旅行的跑步愛(ài)好者，還是喜歡跑步的旅行愛(ài)好者，他們每跑一場(chǎng)比賽，護(hù)照上就多蓋一個(gè)章，人生心愿就又完成一項(xiàng)。在目的地舉辦的比賽成為很多人去新地方旅行和堅(jiān)持執(zhí)行訓(xùn)練計(jì)劃的推動(dòng)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，表面上是為了參加2012麥德半程馬拉松，但我對(duì)自己在13.1英里的比賽中跑出什么成績(jī)并不太在意，我主要是來(lái)“綠嶺之州”觀光的。

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.

對(duì)我而言，馬拉松的部分魅力在于賽后的縱情享樂(lè)（當(dāng)?shù)氐钠【苹颈夭豢缮伲┖痛蹬５馁Y本（在外地跑馬拉松畢竟還是有點(diǎn)酷的）。每當(dāng)想到我一次次去爭(zhēng)取的波士頓馬拉松參賽資格一次次與我擦肩而過(guò)，馬拉松對(duì)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.

洛克斯旅行者俱樂(lè)部是一家精品旅行社，創(chuàng)始人阿莉莎·科恩說(shuō)，她的馬拉松旅游客戶大多是跑步新手，他們喜歡此類行程提供的競(jìng)技元素。科恩表示，圍繞目的地的馬拉松比賽來(lái)安排旅游行程，“增強(qiáng)了馬拉松訓(xùn)練的興奮感”，也是進(jìn)行城市觀光并以此為中心規(guī)劃行程的好方法。科恩還指出，巴黎已成為此類旅行的人氣目的地。

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年在蘇格蘭第一次參加國(guó)際馬拉松賽事，從此迷上了“賽事游”。他說(shuō)：“坦白講，許多賽事都是我看地點(diǎn)決定參加的。”法勒在一家私募股權(quán)公司工作，平時(shí)往返于夏威夷和紐約市。他說(shuō)自己大部分的旅行安排越來(lái)越多地與跑步有關(guān)。

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.

法勒最喜愛(ài)的比賽目的地是南非，他已經(jīng)在那里跑了9次比賽，即將迎來(lái)第10次。每次造訪南非，行程都有所不同，不過(guò)法勒說(shuō)他打算重返開(kāi)普敦，然后去探訪酒鄉(xiāng)。開(kāi)普敦是法勒最喜歡的城市之一，他稱其為“吃貨天堂”。

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.

紐約律師魯思·古爾斯基記憶最深刻的兩次“賽事游”體驗(yàn)分別發(fā)生在悉尼和阿姆斯特丹。古爾斯基說(shuō)：“結(jié)識(shí)其他國(guó)家的運(yùn)動(dòng)員、游覽沒(méi)去過(guò)的國(guó)家，都很有意思。要不是因?yàn)楸荣悾腋緵](méi)機(jī)會(huì)去悉尼。路途太遙遠(yuǎn)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.”

戴維·基利安是一家體育賽事組織機(jī)構(gòu)的選址員。他說(shuō)，在挑選比賽地點(diǎn)時(shí)，要考慮諸多因素。基利安表示，除了充分的市政支持和賽事承辦能力外，“目的地是否合適也是一項(xiàng)重要因素”。他所在的機(jī)構(gòu)雖然沒(méi)有特別在意比賽地點(diǎn)是否能達(dá)到參賽者的度假標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，但基利安指出：“要激起世界各地的參賽者對(duì)前往一座小城市的興趣，那可是相當(dāng)困難。”

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.”

大蘇爾國(guó)際馬拉松吸引了二三十個(gè)國(guó)家及美國(guó)全部50個(gè)州的選手參賽。賽事總監(jiān)道格·瑟斯頓說(shuō)：“把跑步作為度假體驗(yàn)的一部分，從來(lái)沒(méi)有像現(xiàn)在這么流行。”

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.

大城市舉辦的著名馬拉松賽事，如紐約、波士頓、休斯頓、芝加哥、柏林、東京、倫敦的馬拉松，大多會(huì)安排參賽者在26.2英里的路線中穿越城市的大街小巷。當(dāng)?shù)夭宛^通常會(huì)合力支持選手，提供特制的賽前或賽后餐食。當(dāng)?shù)鼐用褚话阋埠苤С郑麄冏呱辖诸^給選手加油打氣，還手舉標(biāo)語(yǔ)牌，上面寫(xiě)著“開(kāi)心點(diǎn)兒，你可是花了錢的”“為了吃一根免費(fèi)香蕉可真夠辛苦的”等，為的是讓選手心情愉悅地跑完全程，忍住常常伴有的身體疼痛。

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，選手蜂擁而至的并不限于世界上的大城市。大蘇爾國(guó)際馬拉松每年4月沿1號(hào)公路開(kāi)跑，部分參賽者及陪同家屬把這項(xiàng)比賽當(dāng)成加利福尼亞度假游，瑟斯頓說(shuō)他們“給旅游業(yè)注入了大量資金”。休斯頓弗斯特公司的首席執(zhí)行官邁克爾·赫克曼在談及雪佛龍休斯頓馬拉松時(shí)，表示深有同感：“像馬拉松這樣的標(biāo)志性活動(dòng)為城市及當(dāng)?shù)亟?jīng)濟(jì)帶來(lái)了巨大價(jià)值，對(duì)賽道沿線的酒店、餐飲場(chǎng)所、娛樂(lè)設(shè)施乃至共享汽車司機(jī)來(lái)說(shuō)，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.”

“安克雷奇市長(zhǎng)的午夜陽(yáng)光馬拉松”是阿拉斯加的標(biāo)志性活動(dòng)之一，薩莉·龐特受到激勵(lì)報(bào)名參賽并重新開(kāi)始訓(xùn)練。這位來(lái)自華盛頓的大學(xué)升學(xué)顧問(wèn)說(shuō)，參賽“本身雖然算不得一次旅行，但是穿越整座城市，然后在博物館結(jié)束比賽，讓我覺(jué)得馬拉松比賽遠(yuǎn)不止跑步這么簡(jiǎn)單”。

“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.

談起2003年在安克雷奇舉行的馬拉松比賽，龐特說(shuō)她臨時(shí)增添了幾天行程，先去參加在迪納利國(guó)家公園舉辦的藍(lán)調(diào)音樂(lè)節(jié)，又乘坐水上飛機(jī)去觀賞冰川。她說(shuō)：“再參加馬拉松比賽的話，我要來(lái)點(diǎn)兒非同一般的體驗(yàn)。”

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.

馬德琳·豐蒂拉什·龍科是一位海玻璃藝術(shù)家，同家人一起住在洛杉磯地區(qū)。2017年，她也借參加哈瓦那鐵人三項(xiàng)比賽之機(jī)，前往古巴旅游。她說(shuō)：“談不上什么原因，我們就是感覺(jué)應(yīng)該立刻去。”在豐蒂拉什·龍科和女兒專心參加賽前活動(dòng)及正式比賽時(shí)，她的丈夫則與其他選手的家人一起參觀博物館和美術(shù)館。

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.

利用行程規(guī)劃師的專業(yè)技能有助于消除出國(guó)長(zhǎng)跑的行程規(guī)劃壓力，古巴并非選手可因此受益的唯一目的地。從1979年開(kāi)始，“馬拉松巡游與旅游”旅行社便與全世界的馬拉松賽事合作，為選手提供賽事注冊(cè)等現(xiàn)場(chǎng)后勤協(xié)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.

卡倫·霍克已在這家旅行社工作超過(guò)7年。她說(shuō)：“他們確實(shí)已成為一個(gè)龐大的群體，成員全都動(dòng)力滿滿。他們當(dāng)然不止對(duì)長(zhǎng)跑抱有很高的熱情，他們還熱愛(ài)旅游，喜歡探訪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.”

巴特菲爾德把比賽稱作旅行的開(kāi)胃菜。她說(shuō)：“你顯然沒(méi)法走遍城市的每一個(gè)角落、每一個(gè)街區(qū)，但你可以通過(guò)比賽掌握城市的大致風(fēng)貌。”比賽路線本身就能讓這位富有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的選手知道賽后幾天要去哪里觀光。按照巴特菲爾德的說(shuō)法，比賽是“為了吊你的胃口”。

（譯者為“《英語(yǔ)世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸?/p>

1名字源自比賽路線上的麥德河谷（Mad River Valley）。 2美國(guó)佛蒙特州的別稱。

3除休斯頓國(guó)際馬拉松外，其余六個(gè)即“世界六大馬拉松”賽事。 4指加州1號(hào)公路，沿美國(guó)西海岸修建，沿途風(fēng)景優(yōu)美。 5休斯頓官方的旅游目的地營(yíng)銷組織。世界各國(guó)幾乎所有的旅游目的地都設(shè)有旅游目的地管理機(jī)構(gòu)（Destination Management Organization），并設(shè)有與政府旅游管理機(jī)構(gòu)合為一體的或相對(duì)獨(dú)立運(yùn)作的旅游目的地營(yíng)銷組織（Destination Marketing Organization）。在中國(guó)，各地旅游局承擔(dān)相關(guān)職能。

6美國(guó)阿拉斯加州最大的城市。 7 sea glass海玻璃，指在海水中或海灘上經(jīng)長(zhǎng)時(shí)間海水和海沙打磨后失去棱角，變得如同鵝卵石般圓滑的廢棄玻璃。 8 jump at sth迫不及待地接受，欣然接受（機(jī)會(huì)、建議等）。

9波士頓馬拉松的官方旅行社，致力于為參賽者提供位置優(yōu)越且價(jià)格實(shí)惠的酒店、協(xié)調(diào)物流，還可保障參賽資格。