Marathon des Alpes-Maritimes: Nice-Cannes
A Review
This marathon starts off on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice and winds its way westwards along the Mediterranean coastline taking in five other towns before finishing up on the prom in Cannes just outside the Palais des Festivals, where the Cannes Film Festival is held. This year about 10,000 runners took part.
The race was won by one Jacob Kitur of Kenya who crossed the finishing line in 2h11'12'', so a bit slower than the Dublin Marathon. Not sure if that tells us if it's a fast marathon or not.
There are pacemakers too for people with objectives from 3hours to 4hrs30 and every 15 minute time in between. At the marathon expo (open from Thursday to Saturday before the race on Sunday) you could get these colour-coded wrist-bands, depending on your objective they broke down the race into what your time should be at different distances. The marathon expo in a park beside the starting line seemed very impressive, lots of bells and whistles laid out under a 2,000 square metre canopy. Also a nice computer animation taking you through the course. Good stalls too promoting other marathons, reminded me a bit of doing my Leaving Cert again heading to the Higher Options day. Impressive goody bag, featuring a backpack and an energy gel, got a medal and t-shirt on finishing.
Very well-supported by the public as you pass through the different towns. Quite a number of bands playing along the route, ranging from bongo drums, jazz, the solo saxophonist playing the James Bond theme tune in Antibes, to the death metal lads at 40km on the way into Cannes who nearly made me collapse with their noise.
The best bits:
Pretty reasonably priced: depending on how early you register, for the 2008 one it could cost you from €35 (if you registered 10 months before the race) to €70 (10 days before the race.)
The start numbers also had the runner's first name printed on it. I hadn't come across this in a race before and found it led to encouraging shouts of "Allez James" from the crowd. Unfortunately for my friend, the French spectators seemed to struggle with pronouncing "Eoghan".
Logistics were top notch. The starting city, Nice, is very easy to get to with regular flights from Dublin with both Ryanair and Aer Lingus. Free trains back from Cannes to Nice for the runners (God help the ordinary non-sweaty passengers). As it is held in November, the off-season for seaside towns like Nice, hotels near the starting line are in plentiful supply and offer good value for money.
18 to 20 degrees, gorgeous coastline scenery, deep blue sea, palm tree-lined course, made all the more sweeter when I found out from my sister that it was 3 degrees and raining horizontally back at home. Apparently last year it was much colder. (Though the website seems to indicate that this was the first time the marathon was held.) However the warm weather seems to last longer in the South East of France than in the rest of the country.
Race passes through 7 towns, so a nice bit of variety. Good support from spectators in the towns themselves.
Got myself a personal best, 3:54:40, knocking nearly 20 minutes of my first and only other marathon, the Connemarathon earlier this year.
The pasta served at the end of the race. Did it hit the spot or did it hit the spot.
A television helicopter hovering over the starting line and following the race for the opening 3km or so.
The worst bits:
As is the case with all French races and some other overseas races, you have to get a medical certificate from a doctor saying you're race fit. While I can see the merits of this rule, it makes entering the race maybe 1% more hassle than entering races that don't have this requirement.
Seemed to be pretty big queues for the post-race massages in the recovery tents. Not something I've gone for before anyway, so didn't bother me.
Realising that the television helicopter hovering over us at the starting line didn't stop tracking the race after 3km, it was actually there to film the elite runners, who were now miles ahead. Can't really think of many other negatives to be honest.
Difficulty: 2/5
Beginner suitability: Yes. Very flat race. Total ascent is 34m spread out over 42.195km. Most of this ascent takes place as you go around the Cap d'Antibes, a promontory sticking into the sea just after the town of Antibes, offering great views of the bits of the course you've already completed. There is a cut-off point of 6 hours.
Drinks: Water stations every 5km. Served in plastic cups, something some runners have a gripe about. At every water station there were apricots, bananas and orange slices too. Think there were two stations serving energy drinks, and a couple with cola as well as water. One sponge station located about 2km after each water station.
Top Tip: Don't order the chicken kebab from Kebab King up by Nice train station the night before unless you REALLY have to. Also there is a fairly steep but thankfully fairly short hill after 25km, take things handy coming up it.
I'd highly recommend this marathon, more details are on their website:
http://www.marathon06.com/AN/index.htm
This marathon starts off on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice and winds its way westwards along the Mediterranean coastline taking in five other towns before finishing up on the prom in Cannes just outside the Palais des Festivals, where the Cannes Film Festival is held. This year about 10,000 runners took part.
The race was won by one Jacob Kitur of Kenya who crossed the finishing line in 2h11'12'', so a bit slower than the Dublin Marathon. Not sure if that tells us if it's a fast marathon or not.
There are pacemakers too for people with objectives from 3hours to 4hrs30 and every 15 minute time in between. At the marathon expo (open from Thursday to Saturday before the race on Sunday) you could get these colour-coded wrist-bands, depending on your objective they broke down the race into what your time should be at different distances. The marathon expo in a park beside the starting line seemed very impressive, lots of bells and whistles laid out under a 2,000 square metre canopy. Also a nice computer animation taking you through the course. Good stalls too promoting other marathons, reminded me a bit of doing my Leaving Cert again heading to the Higher Options day. Impressive goody bag, featuring a backpack and an energy gel, got a medal and t-shirt on finishing.
Very well-supported by the public as you pass through the different towns. Quite a number of bands playing along the route, ranging from bongo drums, jazz, the solo saxophonist playing the James Bond theme tune in Antibes, to the death metal lads at 40km on the way into Cannes who nearly made me collapse with their noise.
The best bits:
Pretty reasonably priced: depending on how early you register, for the 2008 one it could cost you from €35 (if you registered 10 months before the race) to €70 (10 days before the race.)
The start numbers also had the runner's first name printed on it. I hadn't come across this in a race before and found it led to encouraging shouts of "Allez James" from the crowd. Unfortunately for my friend, the French spectators seemed to struggle with pronouncing "Eoghan".
Logistics were top notch. The starting city, Nice, is very easy to get to with regular flights from Dublin with both Ryanair and Aer Lingus. Free trains back from Cannes to Nice for the runners (God help the ordinary non-sweaty passengers). As it is held in November, the off-season for seaside towns like Nice, hotels near the starting line are in plentiful supply and offer good value for money.
18 to 20 degrees, gorgeous coastline scenery, deep blue sea, palm tree-lined course, made all the more sweeter when I found out from my sister that it was 3 degrees and raining horizontally back at home. Apparently last year it was much colder. (Though the website seems to indicate that this was the first time the marathon was held.) However the warm weather seems to last longer in the South East of France than in the rest of the country.
Race passes through 7 towns, so a nice bit of variety. Good support from spectators in the towns themselves.
Got myself a personal best, 3:54:40, knocking nearly 20 minutes of my first and only other marathon, the Connemarathon earlier this year.
The pasta served at the end of the race. Did it hit the spot or did it hit the spot.
A television helicopter hovering over the starting line and following the race for the opening 3km or so.
The worst bits:
As is the case with all French races and some other overseas races, you have to get a medical certificate from a doctor saying you're race fit. While I can see the merits of this rule, it makes entering the race maybe 1% more hassle than entering races that don't have this requirement.
Seemed to be pretty big queues for the post-race massages in the recovery tents. Not something I've gone for before anyway, so didn't bother me.
Realising that the television helicopter hovering over us at the starting line didn't stop tracking the race after 3km, it was actually there to film the elite runners, who were now miles ahead. Can't really think of many other negatives to be honest.
Difficulty: 2/5
Beginner suitability: Yes. Very flat race. Total ascent is 34m spread out over 42.195km. Most of this ascent takes place as you go around the Cap d'Antibes, a promontory sticking into the sea just after the town of Antibes, offering great views of the bits of the course you've already completed. There is a cut-off point of 6 hours.
Drinks: Water stations every 5km. Served in plastic cups, something some runners have a gripe about. At every water station there were apricots, bananas and orange slices too. Think there were two stations serving energy drinks, and a couple with cola as well as water. One sponge station located about 2km after each water station.
Top Tip: Don't order the chicken kebab from Kebab King up by Nice train station the night before unless you REALLY have to. Also there is a fairly steep but thankfully fairly short hill after 25km, take things handy coming up it.
I'd highly recommend this marathon, more details are on their website:
http://www.marathon06.com/AN/index.htm
