Cruise Passenger Runs Seven Marathons in Seven Days – Including 185 Laps of the Ship

Paul Manson Running on Enchanted Princess (Credits: Paul Manson & Wirestock Creators)

Most of us consider walking from one end of a cruise ship to the other enough exercise to justify another trip to the buffet.

Scottish ultra runner Paul Manson had slightly different plans for his first cruise.

Manson, who shares his running adventures online as The Random Runner, completed seven marathon-distance runs in seven consecutive days during a Mediterranean cruise aboard Princess Cruises' Enchanted Princess in August.

By the end of the week, he'd covered an extraordinary 299.5 kilometres.

Yes. 299.5.

After running almost 300 kilometres in seven days, he finished just half a kilometre short of the nice round number. Which, frankly, would probably annoy me more than the running.

Manson called the challenge "Run the Med", using the cruise itinerary as a moving base for a different marathon route each day.

His first run began in Rome on 4 August before he boarded Enchanted Princess. The 42.3 km route took him past some fairly impressive sightseeing stops, including the Colosseum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain.

From there, the ship did the travelling overnight while Manson did considerably more travelling on foot during the day.

He completed further marathon-distance runs around:

• Naples, Italy
• Kotor, Montenegro
• Corfu, Greece
• Katakolon and the Olympia area, Greece
• Messina and Mount Etna, Sicily

Manson planned his routes using Google Maps and information from other runners on Strava, generally getting off the ship as early as possible to give himself enough time to complete each run and get back onboard.

Somehow, he still found time for a cocktail by the pool afterwards.

There's one fairly obvious problem with trying to run a marathon at every destination on a seven-night cruise.

Sea days.

With nowhere to get off the ship and run, Manson headed to the jogging track on Deck 18 of Enchanted Princess instead.

A marathon on that track?

185 laps.

He started at around 5.45am and used a hand-held clicker to keep count as he went around. And around. And around.

By this stage of the cruise, other passengers had worked out what he was doing and some came up to the deck to watch and encourage him.

The onboard marathon took around five hours.

I'd have lost count somewhere around lap 11 and gone for breakfast.

As though six consecutive marathon-distance runs weren't enough, the final leg of the challenge involved Mount Etna in Sicily.

Manson's 42.5 km route included around 2,500 metres running down the volcano, leaving him covered in a mixture of sweat and volcanic ash.

There was also one fairly important detail he apparently wasn't aware of at the time.

Mount Etna was erupting.

Fortunately, the run was completed safely, with a jump in the sea afterwards taking care of at least some of the volcanic ash.

Across the seven days, Manson recorded a total distance of 299.5 km, or around 186 miles.

Princess Cruises later congratulated him on the achievement, describing it as a unique way to explore the Mediterranean.

It was also Manson's first cruise.

And despite choosing possibly the least relaxing way imaginable to spend it, he apparently enjoyed the experience enough that he'd happily cruise again.

He told The Independent that he'd never previously considered using a cruise ship as a base for running through different destinations, but found it worked surprisingly well.

There is one downside for anyone tempted to recreate the challenge: apparently you need several pairs of running shoes because sweaty shoes don't dry particularly well between consecutive marathon days.

Good to know.

Personally, I'll continue exploring cruise ports at a slightly more leisurely pace.

And on sea days?

You'll find me considerably closer to the buffet than lap 185.