On my way back from Mexico City, my stopover in Frankfurt was going to be around 7 hours – from 2pm until my flight to Lyon around 9. Since I would have cleared customs and be in the Schengen zone for my next flight, and would have access to the Lufthansa business lounge (and showers) I toyed with the idea of quitting the airport and going for a run.
A bit of preparation – I made sure to pack my running gear in my hand baggage. Once in the Schengen terminal I found the lounge, and checked with the staff there that I would definitely be able to leave the airport and come back in. My boarding pass was on my phone, so I didn’t need to take anything else with me apart from the key to the locker in the business lounge. I took my driving licence just in case I ended up needing it for ID (I didn’t).
Frankfurt airport is surrounded by hundreds of hectares of forest – I’d seen it countless times when flying in and out of the airport and thought that it would be a good place to run if I got the chance. A lot of the Googling I’d done recommended leaving the airport on a hotel transfer bus and starting from their, but instead I simply ran out of the arrivals lounge in the vague direction of Frankfurt.
There are a few marked cycle paths which lead out of the airport, and along some of the main roads and I was able to follow these until they crossed a motorway and ended up in the main forest itself.
It was mid autumn and cold, but it was dry and crisp and the forest floor was a carpet of rustling brown leaves. I expected to see more runners but it was mainly just the odd cyclist. The forest paths all mainly run N-S/E-W in a grid pattern, so navigating towards Frankfurt wasn’t too difficult.
Eventually I reached the river Main, west of Frankfurt and could see the high rise office blocks in the distance. There was quite a pleasant path running along it and assumed it would take me most of the way into Frankfurt, about 5-6km east. However I was starting to feel a niggle in my ankle that had flared up after my last marathon in Amsterdam, and the light was fading so I decided to turn back.
Finding my way back in the airport was much harder than finding my way out. They’re not really built for pedestrian access and I couldn’t find my exact same way back, so ended up entering the airport grounds quite a long way from where I wanted to be. All the signs to the terminal I needed where aimed at cars and didn’t necessarily show me the right way there. In the fading light it felt a little unsettling running round an enormous airport, mostly devoid of people, but eventually I found my way back. I’d definitely recommend the transfer bus to anyone trying it again.
I got a few strange looks going back through security covered in sweat in just running shorts and top, but was back in time for a shower, something to eat and some relaxation before my flight.
