Almost lie-flat seating on an Indonesian train. Flying in Business Class is expensive. But if you want a premium travel experience, it costs a lot less on a train. Trains in many countries have long offered sleeping cars — often called “sleepers” — where travelers get to enjoy beds in cozy compartments. Sometimes just one bed, sometimes two or more. Ocasionally with a private bathroom. I suppose that is the train equivalent of a First Class Suite on an Emirates A380. Minus the Dom Perignon and caviar. I’m a big fan of sleepers. I’ve traveled in them in Europe, India, and elsewhere. Once I tr ..read more

A foggy morning at the Addis Ababa airport. I took two flights on Ethiopian Airlines when going to Addis Ababa recently with my son for The Great Ethiopian Run. The first was from Atlanta to Addis, and the second was Addis to Frankfurt. Both were in Economy. Here are some thoughts on the airline based on those experiences. Plus some comments on the Addis airport. Ethiopian = Africa’s global airline Ethiopian Airlines — which is wholly owned by the Ethiopian government — is the largest in Africa. It is also Africa’s oldest continuously operating airline, having started operations in 1945. Tho ..read more

2023 race medal collection (left to right): Lisbon, Berlin, Istanbul, Sydney, San Francisco, Copenhagen, Tokyo, Addis Ababa. Happy New Year to everyone who has been following flyrun.fun — the blog is now one year old! If you haven’t checked it lately, you’ll find recent race/trip reports from: Copenhagen Tokyo Addis Ababa Plus some related travel/aviation content. And if New Year resolutions include doing a half marathon, don’t forget this link and this one. Happy running, flying, traveling, and/or everything else! And my unabating thanks to my wife, whose work for an airline makes t ..read more

Lining up for the start of the 2023 Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa. Photo credit: Jiro Mochizuki. The Great Ethiopian Run held in Addis Ababa in November is the largest running event in Africa with around 45,000 participants. It’s also among the largest in the world. It’s a 10K, which — for those not so used to kilometers — translates to about 6.2 miles. The event first took place in 2001. One of its founders, who still is very much involved, was Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopia’s most famous long-distance runner — and a national hero in a country that has produced numerous world-class runne ..read more

Japan Airlines B787 parked at Tokyo Narita airport. Although I like to think of myself as a somewhat seasoned air traveler, and while I have been to Japan a number of times, I had never until this past October flown on Japan Airlines. This changed when I flew to Tokyo for the Legacy Half Marathon. Here are my brief impressions and the odd vignette. It’s all about the space The best long-haul Economy Class flights are those where you have the most space. Indeed, what you are really buying when you fork out for Business Class — or Premium Economy — is not the catering, and certainly not the am ..read more

Japan National Stadium — where the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon begins and ends. Tokyo is famous for its full marathon, one of the most prestigious in the world. But, until recently, it did not have a world-class half marathon. That changed in 2022 with the launch of the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon, which took place for the second time in 2023 and is now slated to be an annual event in mid-October. What instantly propels this new race to world-class status is that — like the flagship half marathons in Berlin, Boston, and New York — it is the progeny of the city’s full marathon. So it has instan ..read more

Tokyo National Stadium viewed from my hotel — where the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon begins and ends ..read more

Taxiing for take-off at LHR. On my recent trip to Copenhagen for the half marathon, I flew SAS in and out of the city. Here are some brief observations. Not many U.S. airlines fly to Copenhagen. Right now, Delta is the only one to do so and it only flies there from New York JFK. American will begin service from Philadelphia in 2024. But by far the biggest range of flight options connecting Denmark with North America is offered by SAS, short for Scandinavian Airways System. It currently flies to Copenhagen from Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark (New York), San Francisco, Toronto, an ..read more

The finish at the 2023 Copenhagen Half Marathon. Photo credit: Cph Half. The Copenhagen Half Marathon is one of the largest races in Europe. This year, there were 24,382 finishers according to the official results. It takes place each year in mid-September, making it the earliest major half marathon at the start of the main European season. It’s its own event, as opposed to being run in conjunction with a full marathon or some other distance. It’s a world-class race that attracts a talented field of elite athletes and has plenty to offer to recreational runners from around the world, too. Ab ..read more

A Japan Airlines B787 flies overhead as avgeeks gather at LAX opposite In-N-Out for Dorkfest. Dorkfest is an annual gathering of avgeeks. For those not in the know, “avgeek” is short for “aviation geek.” About avgeeks All avgeeks are passionate about aviation. But avgeekery is a spectrum. Avgeeks differ not only in their degree of passion, but also in the specific aspects of aviation that draw them into the spectrum. Many are into “plane spotting.” Those avgeeks typically have very fancy camera equipment with lenses at least the size of those cylindrical containers you get with pricier bottl ..read more