Alaskan Running Cruise, Juneau Alaska, State 41-
II'MMMMMM BAAAAAACK!
BACKGROUND
A couple of years ago I stumbled across a Facebook posting for the Great Alaskan Running Cruise....Whaaaat?? What is this? Of course I had to do it! It was perfect. Dad was just saying Alaska was one of the 2 states left that he never got to visit. I convinced him to sign up right away!
Fast forward several months later and dads health is declining and we have to withdrawl the registration.
Fast forward several months even later and I realize the following years cruise corresponds with what would be my 100th half marathon! So I convince my friends to sign up right away! Shortly after, I break my ankle requiring surgery, lots of metal, and doctors telling me they dont know if or how I will run again.
I keep the registration.
Obviously its no longer going to be my 100th half marathon celebration, but how could I let my friends go without me? Doing the calculations, sail date would put me 8months out from the year long recovery. Perfect! I have a goal! Run a half marathon 8 months post trimalleolar fracture surgery. This will be my first half marathon back celebration! And if worst comes to worst, it would just be a cruise with my friends! I can walk what I can.
So if you have been following along, we all know how awesome physical therapy and recovery has gone. There were slow downs and pains along the way that left me run/walking only minimal. I tried to focus on just doing the distance, even if it was just walking. Its amazing how not just my ankle, but my entire foot, calf and legs forgot what the long distant felt like! I was literally starting my running career all over again! Which made it even more of a mental challenge.
I ended up only making it to 10miles in training before we took off for our cruise. This left me a little discouraged, but I could only do what I could do. The course was set to be a lap course, so if worst comes to worst, I could call it early.
ABOUT
The cruise was a 7 night Southern track cruise, starting in Anchorage and ending in Vancouver, with runs planned in Anchorage, Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. Juneau would be the half marathon and the other were short 5k-10k fun runs. The only official timing was for the half marathon. We were on Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas. It was a normal cruise, but the Running Cruise was a group of a couple hundred runners and walkers on a regular cruise ship with other nonrunners. Your guest can be a runner or not and still be invited to all the activities and meals.
ANCHORAGE
We flew into Anchorage a few days early, one, so we didnt miss the cruise if something happened, and two, because I wanted to check out the city. We had a perfect Airbnb on the water with an awesome patio. In July the sun barely sets for a couple hours and doesnt really get real dark. The time difference and jet lag coming from East Coast plus the lightness made it a little difficult to adjust the first couple of days.
The Anchorage 5k ran on the Coastal Trail right in from of our Airbnb. This is a known area for moose sightings, but unfortunately it was quite warm and still too sunny out for them to be around when we ran. We met at Skinny Raven, the local running store for packet pick up, shopping with discounts, and some mingling. After the run, we had pizza and beer on the rooftop!
I
Anchorage is a cute little city but is also very accessible to nearby hikes if you want an escape in nature. Renting a car is suggested if you want to explore on your own, but there also are tour groups that will take you on a bus by set itinerary. In town we went to the Aurora Borealis viewing (Northern Lights commentary as you can not see them in the Summer). We drove out to Thunderbird Falls, Chugach State Park, and then down to Byron Glacier. Although the first two were good, I was hoping to see wildlife and we did not. (we had just missed a bear sighting though at the entry). Byron Glacier on the other hand was definitely worth the drive and back! Short trail with magical experience on the snow/ice! And YES! I stepped on the ice for the first time since breaking my ankle on ice! (okay, maybe just one foot!)
SEWARD
We took the train to Seward to catch the ship, and this was probably one of the highlights of the entire trip! The country side is absolutely gorgeous...lots of greenery, waterfalls, and wildlife! If you are indecisive on the cheap seats or upgrading, just go with the cheap ones! Plenty of space, and you still have dome carts you can help yourself to at any time there is a seat open (which was a lot) AND you can still add on dining if you decide you want a real meal. Or theres a snack bar available (with cocktails). Commentary was given the entire way so you learned what you were looking at as well. I highly enjoyed every moment of it.
As soon as the train arrived, I took a boat out to Kenai Fjords National Park before boarding the cruise ship, as there was plenty of time before dinner and departure. The water was surprisingly aqua in color. I got to see my first puffins and penguins. There were tons of other birds, seals, and they searched long and hard, but finally got some whales at the end!
Walking the boardwalk of Seward is very quaint. Got to have lunch and do some shopping!
DAY AT SEA-HUBBARD GLACIER
This was definitely better than I thought it was going to be! Note, the ship is far, far away, but the glacier is massive. They sell tickets to go on a small boat up close and personal, but it was HUNDREDS of dollars. I felt fine enough from the cruise ship. The ship constantly turns in a circle so everyone gets a view from every angle. You can also stay in your cabin if you like and view it from the tv! The sound of the calving was just amazing. Especially being so far out. Its just massive.
With it being a day at sea, I took the opportunity to experience a massage on the ship. I knew with all the sight seeing and traveling I had already done, I needed a good reflexology massage to get my ankle ready for the race the next day! It was pretty awesome with the rocking on the water!
JUNEAU-HALF MARATHON DAY!
We were bussed to the starting location about 20 minutes away, which was just good enough to get a taste of the small town and suburbs of Juneau. Unfortunately that meant we drove the course, which i always hate doing. It was an out and back course with a hill, which unfortunately was advised only after registration. I wasnt too excited about the course, but it ended up being better once we were running. Probably because there were 4 runners that I knew that would hold me accountable on getting this half marathon distance complete! The course ran along the waterway the majority of the time, besides that hill we had to tackle and then turn around! We saw bald eagles, otter, unfortunately no moose or bear, but there was a small waterfall, and across the water was an amazing view of another glacier! I wore kt tape and an ankle brace and surprisingly my ankle did amazing! I was more tired than anything from not running the distance in so long! Oh and that hill! I was super excited to finish, unfortunately there really wasnt anything at the finish line, except get back on the bus and go back. A little disapointing but I was excited to go explore the city anyways and eat some Alaskan King Crab to celebrate!! We checked out a saloon, went to a crab shack, took the gondola up top for some sight seeing and then called it a day! We celebrated back on board with a sunset from our friends balcony! It was a beautiful day and I finally was back to running!
SKAGWAY
This was a 'fun run/scavenger hunt' day with the Running Cruise, but I decided I would rather leave this small port and see more country side and try to track down some wildlife! So i rented a car and made the same trek as the gold miners and headed to Yukon! Thankfully I had some company and made a nice day of it! Beautiful weather, we made several pit stops and saw some beautiful scenery, but unfortunately still no wildlife. Back in town, we went to another Saloon, but this time took the tour. Apparently all of these ports were know for their Red Light Districts back in the mining days! Very interesting for a cheap tour!
ICY STRAIT
Icy Strait is a unique port as it is privately owned, unlike all the others are owned by the cruise lines. (yes you will see the same touristy things over and over, thus its important to do some tours outside the cruise line!) We decided to do the World's longest zip rider first thing in the morning! It took a while for a very quick ride, but Id say was worth it. The bus ride took you through the village so that was interesting. You are able to hold your phone if you dare, so I took a video the entire ride. It was beautiful from that high and could see the cruise ship in the distance. They gave us a free shot at the bottom. While we waited for our whale excursion, I explored the shoreline as it seemed the kids were having entirely too much fun! Come to find out there were ginormous starfish of every color you can think of! We got to see a good amount of whales on the tour and all different kinds. Those captains really try hard and work together with other boats to let everyone know where the whales are headed! We even got to hear a few of them.
KETCHIKAN
Another race day in Tongass Forest was very unique! It was a drizzly day, which had my anxiety a little high having to run on a slick road, but we took it nice and slow. So much greenery, tons of slugs (they even had a slug contest!), and came back to a bonfire and cold local beer! Oh, and we finally earned our medal! Still no bears or moose. Although come to find out, after we left, a bear and cub walked by our finish line! I did a quick walk and shop around town, found a stream of salmon, and then we caught a seaplane to Misty Fjords. This was pretty amazing as well....taking of and landing on the water (which I did in Vancouver before, but this was different). Once we left the city, it was nothing but green lush mountains, water, fog, and blue skies. It was very cool. We even got to land in the middle of the park and take in the fresh air! Still no bears or moose. We headed back and went real close to a hill side, up and over, and then BAM a herd of white sheep or goat running. Was pretty cool to see the contrast. Still looking for bear, I did end up spotting a small brown hump running across the field under a tree.....yep, THAT was my bear sighting of Alaska. lol. I guess you take what you can get!
VANCOUVER
We disembarked early and our flight was late, so we all did one more excursion. I think we were all super exhausted and it probably would have been wise to spend the night and then fly home in the morning, but we had already extended on the front end of the trip. A 7night cruise can easily turn into 10-12 days! Because i have already been to Vancouver, I opted for the countryside excursion which took me on a zodiac boat tour, a mining tour, and a suspension bridge tour on the outskirts by bus. All was beautiful, but I felt like I had already seen it all in Alaska. I really could have done without it as i was exhausted.Honestly, I dont even know if I remember the flight home! LOL.
An Alaskan Cruise is a unique experience but I honestly feel like I need another trip to Alaska to experience the wildlife and cold! I quickly learned that all the ports are very similar, they are warmer (wheres the snow?!), busy, touristy, and not always what Alaska is really about. I would love to get back and visit Denali...now they HAVE to have some bears!
The Running Cruise portion made it very simple in not having to plan much (except for your private excursions. They did off excursion for just the group, but I did opt to do my own) I wish they provided a photographer for half marathon day. There were no pictures. And I wish they had a little more set up of food/refreshments on half marathon day (they even ran out of water). Every day we had private group breakfast which was nice. The company does other destinations in the Caribbean and over seas. I would suggest it especially if you are a solo traveler but want to travel with similar people!
All in All, this was all about me getting back to half marathon distance and I did it! Having one of the best trips of my life only made it that much better!
Half Marathon
State 41
13.1miles-2:57
