Some races are real bucket list ones, the ones you hear about and think ‘Wow, I’d love to do that!’. The Bridge Run definitely falls into that category, both for its unique location, and the sheer luck needed to get one of the much sought-after places.
The Øresund bridge, which opened in the year 2000 is an impressive feat of engineering which links Denmark to Sweden via road and rail. The crossing spans the 10-mile sound between Copenhagen and Malmo, and comprises of a 4km long tunnel, an artificial island, and the bridge itself which rises up to cover a further 8km. The link has been a crucial and symbolic part of strengthening the close bond between the two countries and is very popular with the local residents. It also gained more worldwide fame in the TV show ‘The Bridge’, one of the most successful shows in the Scandi-noir genre!
While not usually open to pedestrians, the Øresund bridge decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its opening by holding a half-marathon race, ‘The Bridge Run’, where lucky ticket holders would run one-way from Denmark to Sweden. This is not a yearly event and is only reserved for special anniversaries, with the last race being held in 2010! So this really felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part. 40,000 tickets were available, but demand was super high as we all logged in to a queue reminiscent of trying to score Oasis tickets on Ticketmaster. Finally, after several frantic website crashes and reloads, one lucky ticket was mine.
Over a year after securing a ticket, it was finally time to head to Copenhagen! We spent a beautiful Saturday visiting Damusengen parkrun, before heading over to the Expo to pick up my bib for the race. I probably expended a bit too much energy clocking up a whole load of steps, but it was just so lovely wandering around seeing all the sights such as the Little Mermaid statue and the picturesque Nyhavn district.
Sunday morning rolled around and we took the metro over to the start area. It suddenly became clear just how busy this race was! The pre-race area was huge, with portaloo queues snaking around the park, and a long walk from our starting coralls over to the start line itself. The first few km were on Danish land, where people came out to line the streets and wave us on. It was wonderful to see all the Danish and Swedish flags flying side-by-side, with no sign of rivalry but just a lovely community feeling. However, the toughest part of the race was about to come! We plunged into the 4km long tunnel under the sea, and the air turned stiflingly hot. Already a warm morning, we found ourselves absolutely dripping with sweat as the tunnel stretched on and on. Emerging onto the island brought some much-needed fresh air, before we began the second challenge, the long slow climb up the Bridge itself. Just before the summit, we saw the sign that we were crossing the border over to Sweden.
After passing the imposing 200 metre tall pillars at the centre of the bridge, the hard work was done. Now it was time to relax and enjoy the long sweeping downhill onto Swedish soil. After being in the company of just runners for so long, we were finally surrounded by cheering crowds as we rounded the final few corners into the finishing park. I planned my final sprint finish for the line…before running straight into a huge crush of runners, and having to queue for over 13 minutes to cross the finishing line! This felt a little bit of an anticlimactic way to finish such an interesting race, and after the relative openness and peace of the long bridge, felt suddenly jarring to be surrounded by so many people. Both the finishing line and shuttle transport back over to Copenhagen were incredibly busy, and I think the organisers were a bit optimistic in thinking they could handle the complicated logistics of 40,000 runners on a cross-border race. My train back over the bridge was absolutely jam-packed, with one poor runner fainting while crammed in standing next to us in the stifling heat.
I finished the day feeling a little overwhelmed with the craziness of the race. Exhausted but happy, I was just mainly feeling very fortunate to have been able to take part in this historic event. Every time I look at the beautiful medal, I will remember the friendly and welcoming people of both Denmark and Sweden, and I can’t wait to return sometime for a longer visit. I would recommend taking part in this race for its once-in-a-lifetime vibes, if you go in with the full knowledge that it will be a huge busy race, and leave yourself plenty of time for travelling back at the end. Who knows when the next edition of the Bridge race will be held, perhaps 2030? Or perhaps even later? Keep your eyes peeled!
Monday Running 
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