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，在沖過新奧爾良搖滾半程馬拉松的終點線后不久，勞雷爾·巴特菲爾德大啖牡蠣，豪飲血腥瑪麗雞尾酒。她的計劃很簡單：“我用兩小時或更短的時間跑比賽，乘機看看這座城市有趣的地方。等跑完，我就把當?shù)孛朗吵詡€遍，好好享受一番?！?/p>

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.

無論是喜歡旅行的跑步愛好者，還是喜歡跑步的旅行愛好者，他們每跑一場比賽，護照上就多蓋一個章，人生心愿就又完成一項。在目的地舉辦的比賽成為很多人去新地方旅行和堅持執(zhí)行訓練計劃的推動力。

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，但我對自己在13.1英里的比賽中跑出什么成績并不太在意，我主要是來“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.

對我而言，馬拉松的部分魅力在于賽后的縱情享樂（當?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酷的）。每當想到我一次次去爭取的波士頓馬拉松參賽資格一次次與我擦肩而過，馬拉松對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.

洛克斯旅行者俱樂部是一家精品旅行社，創(chuàng)始人阿莉莎·科恩說，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技元素。科恩表示，圍繞目的地的馬拉松比賽來安排旅游行程，“增強了馬拉松訓練的興奮感”，也是進行城市觀光并以此為中心規(guī)劃行程的好方法?？贫鬟€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際馬拉松賽事，從此迷上了“賽事游”。他說：“坦白講，許多賽事都是我看地點決定參加的?！狈ɡ赵谝患宜侥脊蓹喙竟ぷ?，平時往返于夏威夷和紐約市。他說自己大部分的旅行安排越來越多地與跑步有關。

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，即將迎來第10次。每次造訪南非，行程都有所不同，不過法勒說他打算重返開普敦，然后去探訪酒鄉(xiāng)。開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”體驗分別發(fā)生在悉尼和阿姆斯特丹。古爾斯基說：“結識其他國家的運動員、游覽沒去過的國家，都很有意思。要不是因為比賽，我根本沒機會去悉尼。路途太遙遠了。”

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構的選址員。他說，在挑選比賽地點時，要考慮諸多因素?；脖硎?，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重要因素”。他所在的機構雖然沒有特別在意比賽地點是否能達到參賽者的度假標準，但基利安指出：“要激起世界各地的參賽者對前往一座小城市的興趣，那可是相當困難。”

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.”

大蘇爾國際馬拉松吸引了二三十個國家及美國全部50個州的選手參賽。賽事總監(jiān)道格·瑟斯頓說：“把跑步作為度假體驗的一部分，從來沒有像現(xiàn)在這么流行?！?/p>

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，大多會安排參賽者在26.2英里的路線中穿越城市的大街小巷。當?shù)夭宛^通常會合力支持選手，提供特制的賽前或賽后餐食。當?shù)鼐用褚话阋埠苤С?，他們走上街頭給選手加油打氣，還手舉標語牌，上面寫著“開心點兒，你可是花了錢的”“為了吃一根免費香蕉可真夠辛苦的”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。大蘇爾國際馬拉松每年4月沿1號公路開跑，部分參賽者及陪同家屬把這項比賽當成加利福尼亞度假游，瑟斯頓說他們“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，表示深有同感：“像馬拉松這樣的標志性活動為城市及當?shù)亟?jīng)濟帶來了巨大價值，對賽道沿線的酒店、餐飲場所、娛樂設施乃至共享汽車司機來說，更是如此?！?/p>

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.”

“安克雷奇市長的午夜陽光馬拉松”是阿拉斯加的標志性活動之一，薩莉·龐特受到激勵報名參賽并重新開始訓練。這位來自華盛頓的大學升學顧問說，參賽“本身雖然算不得一次旅行，但是穿越整座城市，然后在博物館結束比賽，讓我覺得馬拉松比賽遠不止跑步這么簡單”。

“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，龐特說她臨時增添了幾天行程，先去參加在迪納利國家公園舉辦的藍調(diào)音樂節(jié)，又乘坐水上飛機去觀賞冰川。她說：“再參加馬拉松比賽的話，我要來點兒非同一般的體驗?！?/p>

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比賽之機，前往古巴旅游。她說：“談不上什么原因，我們就是感覺應該立刻去。”在豐蒂拉什·龍科和女兒專心參加賽前活動及正式比賽時，她的丈夫則與其他選手的家人一起參觀博物館和美術館。

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長跑的行程規(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等現(xiàn)場后勤協(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7年。她說：“他們確實已成為一個龐大的群體，成員全都動力滿滿。他們當然不止對長跑抱有很高的熱情，他們還熱愛旅游，喜歡探訪世界上不同的目的地?！?/p>

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胃菜。她說：“你顯然沒法走遍城市的每一個角落、每一個街區(qū)，但你可以通過比賽掌握城市的大致風貌?！北荣惵肪€本身就能讓這位富有經(jīng)驗的選手知道賽后幾天要去哪里觀光。按照巴特菲爾德的說法，比賽是“為了吊你的胃口”。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）

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

3除休斯頓國際馬拉松外，其余六個即“世界六大馬拉松”賽事。 4指加州1號公路，沿美國西海岸修建，沿途風景優(yōu)美。 5休斯頓官方的旅游目的地營銷組織。世界各國幾乎所有的旅游目的地都設有旅游目的地管理機構（Destination Management Organization），并設有與政府旅游管理機構合為一體的或相對獨立運作的旅游目的地營銷組織（Destination Marketing Organization）。在中國，各地旅游局承擔相關職能。

6美國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)長時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（機會、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)越且價格實惠的酒店、協(xié)調(diào)物流，還可保障參賽資格。