European/British marathon 2009

jmccann

Myself and my mates have just been notified of rejection for London Marathon 2009 through ballot and are looking for a suitable marathon for Mar/Apr/May of next year to train for. Have done Cork and Dublin last year and would like to do a marathon in Europe/UK that would involve one/two nights away max!
Any ideas???

shels4ever

Paris is in April i think , there there is Belfast also.

Racing Flat

Rotterdam (same day as London last year) supposed to be a fast course. Nice enough place easy to get to.

hunnymonster

march
Rome
MonteCarlo
Connemara

April
Annecy, France
turin
Belgrade
Vienna
Bonn
Zurich
Leipzip
Nantes
Naples
Hamburg
Wurzburg

May
Belfast
Krakow
Hannover
Dusseldorf
Maastricht
Prague
Leiden
Windermere
Copenhagen

RacoonQueen

The Blackpool Marathon, April 5th 2009. Surely the most random marathon in the world?

shels4ever

I remember the Finglas marathon back in the early 90's

Seanie2008

I suppose it depends what you want. Rotterdam is supposed to be very fast so if you're looking for a time, then probably best to go for that. I think they run a video of the course on the website and it look spretty plain, almost like a run around an industrial site.

Paris is huge so it'd be tough to post your best time. That said, it passes almost all the famous Paris landmarks so it sounds pretty special.

Last year myself and two mates ran the Monaco marathon. Quite hot on the day, two big hills on 6 & 19 miles but apart from that it was good. Well organised with some stunning coastal views. It's pretty small too, the field is about 3000 each year which is handy. Stadium finish also. I think it would suit a group that's relaxed. We stayed in Nice, 20 mins down the road, cheap flights from Ryanair and Aer Lingus... very happy overall.

Have you checked out the marathon review post?? Very useful.

Finglas marathon??? My God!!!

jmccann

Thanks for all your help! Definitely food for thought!

--amadeus--

Picking a marathon is one of the best parts for me! It all kind of goes downhill from there...

The only advice I would add is to work out in advance what you want from the marathon. Are you going to race? To enjoy an atmosphere? Have a good weekend? How important a factor is cost? Does teh route matter? How are you with hills? Is a scenic route a factor?

Different marathons emphasise different things. Rotterdam is as dull as ditchwater in terms of route but it is my favourite marathon memory (maybe because it's my current PB course ). Paris has the atmosphere, crowd and course but will cost a fair amount. Cork is local but later in the year, etc. End of teh day you pay your money and take your choice!

Krusty_Clown

Nobody has mentioned Edinburgh, which would seem to check the boxes.
31st of May. No qualification required. Happily collecting the London rejections! Link here.

ZiggyStardust

Barcelona is on the 2nd march. A few of us are thinking of doing.

Here is a link to all world marathons. http://www.marathonguide.com/
Well I think most are in here anyway. Click calendars and international marathons from the drop down.