[58th marathon, 19th overseas marathon, five days of morning runs (the fairy-tale morning run in Suzdal left the deepest impression), Moscow's Red Square and the Kremlin, Orthodox churches and monasteries along the Golden Ring's ancient towns, and the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in Sergiyev Posad]
Spanning across Europe and Asia, Russia covers an area of 17 million square kilometers, making it the largest country in the world by landmass, with a population of 145 million. It stretches 9,000 kilometers from east to west across 11 time zones, and measures 4,000 kilometers from north to south spanning 4 climate zones, holding the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources.
For this trip, I joined an 8-day tour organized by Dadi Travel Agency (September 18–25, 2019). The tour was split into Group A and Group B, each with 26 people. I was in Group B, led by tour leader Carol. The vast majority of the members were runners, making us the second tour group from Taiwan to head to the Moscow Marathon (Lion Travel organized the first one last year). We flew from Taipei via Hong Kong on Aeroflot to Moscow, then toured the ancient cities of the Golden Ring in a clockwise loop: Moscow → Sergiyev Posad → Rostov → Yaroslavl → Kostroma → Ivanovo → Suzdal → Vladimir → Moscow, before returning to Taipei via Hong Kong.
What impressed me most about Russia:
1. Running the Moscow Marathon (Absolute Moscow Marathon): Both my full marathon and Mei-kuei's 10K were successfully finished; this was my 58th marathon and 19th overseas marathon. The weather was wet, cold, and very windy, even bringing graupel. The city scenery was beautiful, taking us past 30 scenic spots. My performance wasn't ideal, so I'll need to train harder once I get back home.
2. One of the main highlights of this trip organized by Dadi Travel Agency was the morning run every day, starting at either 6:00 or 6:30. Except for the day of the Moscow Marathon, there were morning runs on all five other days, and I had perfect attendance. Each day's morning run was quite wonderful and unique; running across the northern land in crisp, water-cool air where the perceived temperature hovered near freezing offered a truly special charm. The most memorable one was our morning run in Suzdal, which felt just like running through a painting in a fairy-tale world.
3. The most beautiful place in Moscow must be Red Square, which is surrounded by the famous Saint Basil's Cathedral, the majestic walls of the Kremlin, the red State Historical Museum, and the yellow GUM department store.
4. There is more than one Kremlin in Russia; several can be found across the ancient towns of the Golden Ring. Furthermore, a kremlin is not merely a single palace, but an architectural complex featuring churches and palaces inside, surrounded by walls and towers, which also served a military defense function.
5. Russia practices Eastern Orthodoxy, and Moscow as well as the ancient towns of the Golden Ring are home to numerous monasteries, churches, and kremlins. The gold domes represent God, the green domes represent Jesus Christ, the blue domes represent the Virgin Mary, and the silver/gray domes represent the Apostles/disciples.
6. The most beautiful church among the ancient Golden Ring towns is at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in Sergiyev Posad, along with others such as Yaroslavl (featured on the 1,000-ruble banknote, Russia's second-highest denomination bill) and the fairy-tale-like city of Suzdal. 7. Russia is vast with a relatively small population (145 million), but it is heavily concentrated. Moscow alone has 14 million residents—accounting for a tenth of the nation's population—whereas the Golden Ring towns just outside Moscow have far fewer people (ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands). Around the world, societies are facing increasingly concentrated populations, a widening wealth gap, an aging demographic with falling birth rates, and immense difficulty for young people to buy homes. Consequently, when it comes to future employment, education, home purchases, raising children, and retirement, it is still best to look for places that offer strong amenities and economic prosperity.
8. Overall, Moscow boasts a high standard with many beautiful historic sites (such as the Kremlin, Red Square, Saint Basil's Cathedral, and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour). The Moscow Metro is beautiful, clean, and extensive; it turns out the stations are built so deep because they were intended to double as air-raid shelters, though the traffic above ground is quite congested.
9. Russia's economic development is not as robust as one might imagine. The main thoroughfare connecting the ancient cities of the Golden Ring has only a single lane in each direction, and many of the wooden houses along the roadside have fallen into disrepair. In the cities, apart from the beautiful architecture in the old quarters, dilapidated buildings can also be seen from time to time.
10. Russia's specialties include vodka, ice cream, matryoshka nesting dolls, chocolate, and honey.
11. The Russian immigration slip is filled out for you electronically by the immigration officers, which is very convenient. Since that piece of paper and your passport need to be checked during hotel check-in, our tour leader, Carol, kept them safe for everyone throughout the entire trip—she shouldered a huge responsibility.
12. Russia's infrastructure wasn't as good as imagined—such as road construction (single-lane roads), spotty cell coverage, small rooms, and tiny single beds. Connecting to Wi-Fi was quite a hassle, requiring an SMS verification code sent to a phone number. Because of this, after heading back to the hotels in the ancient Golden Ring cities at night, I hardly posted any Facebook updates.
13. The food in Russia is relatively simple, mainly consisting of potatoes, sliced meat, fish fillets, and salads; the stuffed breads are delicious. For restaurants with a great vibe, there is Moscow's Turandot (which cost NT$600 million to build) and dining on a boat house.
14. Russia's currency is the ruble, and two rubles are worth about 1 NTD.
15. Russians are often called a "fighting nation," but our tour guide Marina considers them "straightforward." Russian women are beautiful, while the men aren't as tall or burly as I'd imagined. Yet, looking at the male average finish time of 4 hours and 3 minutes at the Moscow Marathon, it's clear that their people truly have impressive physical endurance.
16. Wearing my Boston Marathon jacket on this trip prompted people to ask how to get into Boston, which made me feel that only with a BQ would I truly live up to the name. Reflecting on this after returning home, the inspiration motivated me to aim for a BQ. To increase my mileage, I specifically launched the 5426 training plan, modeled after the 18-week Hansons Marathon Method, hoping to return to Boston at age 60 with a BQ to my name.
17. Photos from the 2019 Moscow Marathon can be purchased from Marathon Photo (link: https://marathon-photo.ru/users/language/). The price depends on the number of photos; I had 26 photos, which cost 2,750 rubles (approx. NT$1,375). Running videos can be purchased from MySportFilm (link: https://mysportfilm.com/en/mosmarathon) for 850 rubles (approx. NT$425).
18. Link to race video: https://mysportfilm.com/ru/public/login?vid=29547&gid=162&k=Y7Bj4-s_uiXJyfiBPJd9p9fUpxFDd7Zb
Itinerary Overview (from Sep 18, 2019 to Sep 25, 2019):
Russia Moscow Marathon (Full Marathon + 10K) 8-Day Tour + Five 10Ks + Moscow (Red Square, Kremlin) + Golden Ring Ancient Cities
Day 1 (Wednesday, September 18, 2019) Taipei → Hong Kong → Moscow → (83 km / 1.5 hours to) Sergiyev Posad.
Day 2 (Thursday, Sep 19, 2019) Sergiyev Posad 9K → Sergiyev Posad (Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius) → (135K / 2.5 hours to) Rostov → (60K / 1.5 hours to) Yaroslavl (Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, Church of Elijah the Prophet)
Day 3 (September 20, 2019 <Fri>) Yaroslavl 9K → (85K / 2 hours to) Kostroma → (106K / 2 hours to) Ivanovo → Suzdal (Monastery of Saint Euthymius, Museum of Wooden Architecture, Kremlin, Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theotokos)
Day 4 (Saturday, Sep 21, 2019) Suzdal 8K → Matryoshka doll painting DIY → (35K / 1 hour to) Vladimir (Dormition Cathedral, Golden Gate, Cathedral of Saint Demetrius) → (190K / 4 hours to) Moscow
Day 5 (Sep 22, 2019 <Sun>) 2019 Moscow Marathon (42K + 10K) + Moscow Metro + evening celebration dinner.
[Marathon #58 + Overseas Marathon #19] Finished the 2019 Moscow Marathon, the largest and most popular marathon event in all of Russia. The course crosses the picturesque Moskva River and runs past the Kremlin towers, the deep red walls of Red Square, and the fairytale-like Saint Basil's Cathedral.
In the morning, I took the Moscow Metro from the hotel to the start line. The full marathon and the 10K started together at 9:00 AM. The temperature at the start was around 6 to 7 degrees Celsius, but it felt like 2 to 3 degrees. The entire race was a mix of wind and rain with occasional sunshine, forcing me to put on and take off my raincoat three times. I had never run a full marathon in conditions like this before—with the wind, the freezing rain, and a course that wasn't as flat as I had imagined. I finished in 4:19:26. Huge congratulations to my wife for successfully finishing her 10K!
Day 6 (Mon, 9/23/2019) Izmaylovsky Park 10K → Moscow (The Kremlin, Red Square, GUM Department Store, Monument to Peter the Great, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour)
Day 7 (Sep 24, 2019 <Tue>) Izmaylovo Estate 8K → Moscow (Izmailovsky Market, Kolomenskoye Estate, Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve) → Hong Kong
Day 8 (Sep 25, 2019 <Wed>) Hong Kong → Taipei @ arrived at 13:30.
#MoscowMarathon #GreatEarthTravel
