In The Loop Travel
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • The Americas
    • Caribbean
    • Mexico
    • Europe
    • Asia/Pacific
    • Africa
  • Fitness
  • Cruising
  • Travel Tips
  • Videos
  • Work With Us
  • My Work
  • About
  • Colorado Craft Brewery Guide
  • Media Kit
  • TBIN Influencer Network

Ultra-Runner to Complete First Marathon on a Cruise Ship

10/28/2016

2 Comments

 
Crystal Cruises Crystal Serenity
To complete a marathon at sea, Dane Rauschenberg will complete 97 laps on Crystal Serenity's Promenade Deck.
Picture
By John Roberts

As part of the Mind, Body and Spirit theme cruise 
setting sail December 6 on Crystal Cruises' Crystal Serenity, extreme runner Dane Rauschenberg will run what Crystal is billing as the first marathon at sea. The 14-day cruise sails from New Orleans to Miami and visits several ports in the Caribbean.

On December 11, Rauschenberg --
 who gained acclaim in the grueling sport of ultra-marathon by completing 52 marathons on 52 consecutive weekends, finishing a 202-mile relay run as a solo participant and enduring a 350-mile run up the coast of Oregon -- will run his marathon on Crystal Serenity by making 97 laps around the luxury ship's Promenade Deck.  

Ultra-runner Dane Rauschenberg
Dane Rauschenberg ran 52 marathons -- one on 52 consecutive weekends -- in 2006.
No doubt, Rauschenberg, 40, will have plenty of observers cheering him on as he makes the constant turns on a route that will require as much mental toughness as physical fitness to negotiate the challenges of running around the seventh-deck of the cruise ship for more than three hours while sailing a sea day in the Caribbean.  

He actually knows what to expect. He's run the mileage before, on the very same ship, during Crystal's Mind, Body and Spirit theme cruise in early 2014. That run off the coast of Easter Island in the South Pacific Ocean, though, was an impromptu and unofficial marathon, which he wrote all about on his blog.  

I gave him a call at his home in Texas, and he told me what he expects for this epic cruise ship run. Rauschenberg says he will make a couple tweaks to his game plan this time for the official clocking of the first marathon on a cruise ship, mainly starting the run about an hour earlier, at 6 a.m., to get more time in cooler conditions as he cruises in the Caribbean Sea. I asked him whether making almost 100 loops around such a tight track is a mind-numbing experience. 

"The monotony never bothers me," he said. "I like loops. It definitely wasn't a boring thing at all. It was a challenge to pay attention to your footing and to be constantly paying attention to the other passengers.  

"You can never really zone out." 

This will be his second cruise, and he said he knows he'll have no problem finding good food on Crystal Serenity to fuel up for his run. I knew that would be the case, of course, but Rauschenberg gives especially rave reviews of this ship's cuisine. 

"It's funny; I'm not a big foodie," he said. "But when people talk about cruises, they are like 'Oh, the food!'    

"I'll tell you what. I might not be a foodie, but I can appreciate when the food is really amazing, and this cruise ship is mind-bogglingly good. I'm a big beef eater, and I like lean beef to fuel me up for my events. I think the 12 or 13 nights we were on this ship (in 2014), I think I ate steak on 10 of them." 

Rauschenberg, a northwestern Pennsylvania native who ran those 52 marathons in 2006, is also an author and writer. He has written three books on running and contributes articles to Runner's World magazine.  

While the extreme athlete's onboard marathon will be a highlight of the voyage, the Mind, Body and Spirit cruise features a full slate of fitness-based and wellness programming that cruisers will take part in as they sail to Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Curacao, Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Barthelemy and Grand Turk.  


"To have such a passionate athlete as Dane Rauschenberg aboard will certainly entertain but also inspire travelers, whether they, too, are avid runners or prefer sunset walks around the promenade," Crystal Cruises CEO and President Edie Rodriguez said. "The point is, there is always an option for those who seek health and wellness activities, even while traveling the world." 

Meditation and yoga instructor Dina Michelle and lifestyle and wellness expert Barbara Udell will join Rauschenberg for the wellness-focused programming. Michelle will hold classes in the state-of-the-art fitness center, while Udell will share her experiences and research in the fields of lifestyle, longevity and behavioral health education. Rauschenberg is also a guest speaker on the cruise and will share stories of his experiences and travels as an extreme athlete.
 

"Travel is paramount to breaking down stereotypes, to breaking down racism, to breaking down everything with regards to small-mindedness. To get out there and experience different things, it breaks down all the prejudices.

"You realize how similar we are. To see the world and travel is 100 percent integral to becoming a better person."  


The "race" on Crystal Serenity is open to any cruisers who want to join in for a few laps or several miles, and Rauschenberg said he enjoys it when his running can inspire people. 
For Rauschenberg, this cruise is just another step -- or, more accurately, thousands of strides -- toward living life to its fullest. 

"One of the goals I've had my entire life is to step foot in every single country," he said. "The only thing that I've ever been jealous of those who have wealth is they often waste it on cars or going to nightclubs . . . when they could see every corner of this planet. 

"So, we're making eight stops . . . and it's tickling me to be able to just tick off a few more places of this planet, really trying to expand my mind. Hopefully, doing what I do will inspire other people to do whatever it is they want, too." 

Beyond the specialized theme programming on board, cruisers take advantage of numerous amenities and activities for fitness and wellness. Recent upgrades to Crystal Serenity's fitness facilities include an outdoor "fitness garden," with equipment set up to allow a self-guided "movement journey," utilizing stainless-steel equipment.

The gym equipment offers adjustments for beginner, intermediate and advanced fitness levels with warm-up, circuit training and cool-down phases. Indoors, the fully equipped and spacious fitness center is staffed by personal trainers and outfitted with TechnoGym cardio equipment and TechnoGym's Kinesis resistance-training equipment. Fitness classes include Tour de Cycle, yoga and Pilates, while each of the ship's dining venues features fresh, healthy options for any dietary restrictions and needs. 

You'll also like reading: 


7 Reasons to Go Running When You Travel  

No Joke: A Cruise is a Perfect Healthy Choice for Your Vacation 

Thanks for reading! 
Travel fit! Travel happy! Travel often! 
JR
Subscribe today to get the latest reviews, tips and tricks to help you have your best adventure ever.

2 Comments
James Allendorph
10/28/2016 12:04:15 pm

Actually the "at sea" marathon has been done quite a few times. Cool feat, though nothing that hasn't been done.

http://www.princess.com/news/press_releases/2011/09/Princess-Passenger-Runs-First-Ever-Marathon-at-Sea-to-Aid-Help-for-Heroes.html

Reply
John
10/28/2016 06:13:19 pm

Hi James,
Thanks so much for sharing this. What a great accomplishment and for a wonderful cause by Steve on Princess Cruises in 2011. As I mention, Crystal is calling this run by Dane the first. The line is pursuing a Guinness World Records certification, so that could be the technical difference. Either way, all these runners who pursue such endeavors to raise awareness deserve our applause. Thanks for reading and commenting. JR

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Africa
    AIDA Cruises
    Alaska
    Albatros Expeditions
    Alicante
    AmaWaterways
    Amber Cove
    American Queen Steamboat Company
    American Queen Voyages
    Amsterdam
    Antarctica
    Antigua
    Arctic
    Arizona
    Aruba
    Asia
    Atlas Ocean Voyages
    Australia
    Austria
    Avalon Waterways
    Backroads
    Bahamas
    Barbados
    Barcelona
    Belize
    Blue World Voyages
    Bonaire
    Bora Bora
    Brooklyn
    Budapest
    Burma
    Cabo San Lucas
    Cadiz
    California
    Cambodia
    Cancun
    Caribbean
    Carnival Cruise
    Celebrity Cruises
    Celestyal Cruises
    Christmas Markets
    Cologne
    Colombia
    Colorado
    Corfu
    Costa Rica
    Cozumel
    Craft Beer
    Croatia
    Crystal Cruises
    Cuba
    Curacao
    Dominican Republic
    Dubrovnik
    Egypt
    Emerald Cruises
    Emerald Waterways
    Europe
    Expat Life
    Explora Journeys
    Fathom Travel
    Fitness
    Florida
    Fort Lauderdale
    France
    French Polynesia
    Galapagos
    Galveston
    Germany
    Grand Cayman
    Greece
    Grenada
    Guatemala
    Halifax
    Harmony Of The Seas
    Hawaii
    High Line Park
    Hiking
    Holland America
    Hong Kong
    Houston
    Hungary
    Ibiza
    Iceland
    Isla Mujeres
    Italy
    Jim Thorpe
    Key West
    Kotor
    Labadee
    Lake Minnewaska
    Las Vegas
    Lisbon
    Lithuania
    London
    London Eye
    Maine
    Malaga
    Mexico
    Miami
    Minnesota
    Mississippi River
    Monte Carlo
    Montenegro
    Monterey
    Montreal
    Moorea
    MSC Cruises
    MSC Divina
    Netherlands
    Newfoundland
    New Jersey
    New Orleans
    New York
    New York City
    New Zealand
    North Carolina
    Norway
    Norwegian Cruise Line
    Nuremberg
    Oceania Cruises
    Oregon
    Orlando
    Panama
    Panama Canal
    Passau
    Paul Gauguin
    Paul Gauguin Cruises
    Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia
    Pickleball
    Ponant
    Portugal
    Prague
    Princess Cruises
    Puerto-rico
    Queens
    Regensburg
    Regent Seven Seas
    Rome
    Royal Caribbean
    Saint-Tropez
    San Francisco
    Santorini
    Scenic Cruises
    Scottsdale
    Seabourn
    SeaDream Yacht Club
    Sicily
    Silversea
    Sintra
    Sorrento
    Spain
    Star Clippers
    St. Maarten
    St. Thomas
    Symphony Of The Seas
    Tahiti
    Travel Gear
    Travel Tips
    Tunisia
    Turkey
    Turks And Caicos
    UnCruise
    Un-Cruise Adventures
    UnCruise Adventures
    Universal's Islands Of Adventure
    Uniworld
    Utah
    Utica
    Utica Boilermaker 15K
    Vienna
    Vietnam
    Viking Cruises
    Washington
    Windstar Cruises
    Wisconsin

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

Copyright © 2013 | All rights reserved | Ewing, New Jersey.
Contact | About | Media Kit