On Sunday in Denmark, several cities in the country hosted their races for this year’s Royal Run.
The Crown Princely Family spread out across the hosting cities to be present in as many places as possible and ran different distances.
The Royal Run is a sporting event that was first created to celebrate Crown Prince Frederik’s 50th birthday in 2018, and it was so successful that it remained an event in the national sports calendar.
This year, to celebrate the return to some semblance of normalcy following a most unusual 2020, the Royal Run took place in Sønderborg, Copenhagen, Aalborg and Odense, as well as Rønne, where, unfortunately, no member of the Royal Family was present.
Each town had one mile, five kilometres and ten kilometres races set up, with Copenhagen also hosting one mile run for families, an “elite mile”, and a special round of honour, during which Crown Prince Frederik ran a mile with Olympians, Paralympians and their families.
Crown Prince Frederik also ran one mile in Sønderborg, where he arrived on board the Danish yacht Dannebrog, whose crew also ran the race. Before the beginning of the race, His Royal Highness sat down for an interview during which he discussed his love of sports and the reasons behind his decision to create the Royal Run. Crown Prince Frederik then ran the one mile race with Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther.
Crown Princess Mary flew to Aalborg, where she was welcomed by Aalborg Mayor Thomas Kastrup-Larsen, who also participated in the race. Her Royal Highness chose the five kilometres itinerary, during which she competed with some residents and some members of the U13 Handball Team.
Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine were in Copenhagen, where they ran the one mile itinerary, which all three completed and received participation medals. Also in Copenhagen was Prince Felix (Prince Joachim’s second child from his marriage with Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg), who ran the five-kilometre race.
To conclude the day, Crown Prince Frederik travelled to Odense, where he also ran the one mile race, before receiving his medal of participation from the hands of a gymnast from Odense Gymnastikforening.
The 2021 edition of the Royal Run was one of the largest races in Danish history, and the massive participation from both the public and members of the Crown Princely Family assures that it will continue to go on for years into the future.
