Fast spring marathons

Peckham

In my quest for a sub-3, I'm considering a spring marathon somewhere in Europe. Would like to roll on with my training rather than slow down now and catch up again on a new training cycle, so earlier in the year the better.

Am looking for a fast flat course, suitable for PBs. The marathons I can think of are:

- Barcelona
- Rotterdam

Any others in the first four months of the year? Anything in UK?

--amadeus--

I'm aiming for Edinburgh on 31st May myself. They tout it as the "UK's fastest marathon" and Edinburgh is a lovely spot, it's a point to point with a bit of a downhill and a stadium finish so it ticks all my boxes.

Rotterdam is another great choice - I ran 3:15 there and it is about as flat as you'll get this side of Berlin. Brilliantly organised race, I really can't commend it highly enough.

Abhainn

Rotterdam seems the biz alright. See even super low entry fee and all the extras

From website:

"The 29th edition of the largest event of the Netherlands will take place on April 5th 2009. For those who are quick to enter (before December 14th 2008) will benefit of an extra low rate of only € 36. This rate includes a free technical adidas shirt, a free digital Marathon Finish Photo and free Marathon Video"

It seems the 2007 race was cancelled half way due to a heatwave! It reached the mid 80's

shels4ever

I've been thinking of belfast in May but might change my mind now, So of the others sound nice.

Peckham

Edinburgh and Belfast are out of the question for me, as the race would need to be in the first four months of the year (am getting married in May).

Rotterdam looks the best bet. Took a look at Runners World and Paris looks like another option.

--amadeus--

Abhainn wrote: »

Rotterdam seems the biz alright. See even super low entry fee and all the extras

From website:

"The 29th edition of the largest event of the Netherlands will take place on April 5th 2009. For those who are quick to enter (before December 14th 2008) will benefit of an extra low rate of only € 36. This rate includes a free technical adidas shirt, a free digital Marathon Finish Photo and free Marathon Video"

It seems the 2007 race was cancelled half way due to a heatwave! It reached the mid 80's

Why did you tell me that!!!

Aggghhh in two minds now. I had planned to go back to Rotterdam (its the race I am proudest of) until I saw Edinburgh. But €36 is for nothing when you look at what you get. I ran DCM in my Rotterdam shirt, it's excellent and you get great free fotos, videos of you at every 5km marker, pacemakers, great post race statistical analysis. It really is a brilliant race...

Someone toss a coin and make my mind up for me...!

[edit] I found Paris massively congested and so couldn't run freely at all during it. Great course, great feed-stations (wine at 40kms!) but sparse support. Apparently a record number of sub 3 finishers though.

Woddle

I'm heading to Paris myself, might be a nice one to bring the bride to be to.
I have heard conflicting reports, apparently fast course but the huge numbers can slow you down, but I'm sure the large crowd would not trouble you as you would be in a pretty good coral.

ekevosu

was reading through reviews of some of the marathons on http://www.marathonguide.com/races/races.cfm?place=Intl and they mentioned Zurich which was supposed to be a good one. On April 19th I think.

digitalage

I done Hamburg this year, very well run, powerade at nearly every water station, great support from the crowds, overall a great flat course. Will do it again down the line.

Krusty_Clown

I'm looking forward to Edinburgh, but it'll take a while to get over the slagging about running a downhill marathon..

christeb

Rotterdam looks very tempting the more I read about it. Sunshine (at least in the photos, well organised, flat, cheap etc)

@Amadeus: what is the best way to get to the city? I see the closest Ryanair get is Eindhoven

Bambaata

going to do barcelona myself. not for sub 3h though! Hoping for 3:20/25

--amadeus--

christeb wrote: »

Rotterdam looks very tempting the more I read about it. Sunshine (at least in the photos, well organised, flat, cheap etc)

@Amadeus: what is the best way to get to the city? I see the closest Ryanair get is Eindhoven

I flew into Amsterdam. But it could have been with aer lingus rather then ryanair or from Cork rather than Dublin (all those early morning marathon flights have blended into one!)

How Strange

Utrecht, another city in Holland, has their marathon on Easter Sunday. They also do a half marathon. I don't know how much etc but google it

Rusty Cogs 08

I'm also thinking of Rotterdam, Belfast is meant to be a bit of a mess with relays amongst full marathon runners, ie your always being passed by fresh legs and tag points are carnage.

bo-sco

christeb wrote: »

Rotterdam looks very tempting the more I read about it. Sunshine (at least in the photos, well organised, flat, cheap etc)

@Amadeus: what is the best way to get to the city? I see the closest Ryanair get is Eindhoven

I flew to Eindhoven. You get a bus to the train station and two hour train from there to Rotterdam Central. The station is near the race start so booking a hotel around there leaves you well located for everything.

Great race, brilliant organisation, flat course. I ran a PB too!

TheRoadRunner

definitely going to run Edinburgh sometime myself. I have only heard good things about it.

For those thinking of Belfast, it is not the worst ! The relay is a pain. However for anybody planning on running sub 3 hours you will be ahead of nearly all the relay teams. The course is tough though. I ran Boston 12 months after Belfast and the Boston hills were a piece of cake when compared to what Belfast has.

christeb

Schiphol is a lot closer to Rotterdam, Aer Lingus is also coming in at a tiny bit cheaper (€111 rtn or so). I have put the last day of discounted entry in my calendar, will make a call on it in the next few weeks. Thanks for all the info

--amadeus--

christeb wrote: »

Schiphol is a lot closer to Rotterdam, Aer Lingus is also coming in at a tiny bit cheaper (€111 rtn or so). I have put the last day of discounted entry in my calendar, will make a call on it in the next few weeks. Thanks for all the info

I flew into Schipol. I don't know if you have flown into there before but there is a huge train station attached to the airport and express trains to Rotterdam that are frequent and inexpensive.

Really tempted to go back now...

Euchrid

I'm not sure if they still fly out of Dublin, but I've flown Dub-Rotterdam with transavia.com before. They are a Dutch budget airline. Isn't Rotterdam supposed to be a flat but very, very boring course?

Spring marathons - I did Edinburgh and Barcelona this year and while both are quick, I'd recommend Barcelona to anyone. Much nicer course. And then you can gorge on tapas and wine afterwards.

shels4ever

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

definitely going to run Edinburgh sometime myself. I have only heard good things about it.

For those thinking of Belfast, it is not the worst ! The relay is a pain. However for anybody planning on running sub 3 hours you will be ahead of nearly all the relay teams. The course is tough though. I ran Boston 12 months after Belfast and the Boston hills were a piece of cake when compared to what Belfast has.

Just noticed that it will be 10 years since i ran my first and only marathon in Chicago.. that was a failed 3:15 attempt, If I can get around Belfast in 4:00 in may i'll be happy and then maybe go back to Chicago later in the year.


I take it belfast will be crap then for the 3:30 - 4:00 runners with the relay?

hawkwing

Have an idea to try Paris as a help to get near a sub 4 Dub next year.It's filling up fairly fast,there is an insurance for 8 euro that i think is all you pay if you cancel??

http://www.parismarathon.com/marathon/2009/us/index.html

"Registrations are opened.
Today, 29631 runners are entered, there are 7369 places left."

TheRoadRunner

shels4ever wrote: »

I take it belfast will be crap then for the 3:30 - 4:00 runners with the relay?

I personally think it would be.

shels4ever

I was about to register for belfast but think i'll hold off now and see how the training goes. If it goes well maybe i'll go abroad .

Euchrid

For the relay haters - Edinburgh has a good few relay runners as well. They seemed to manage to keep the changeovers out of the way, but still a pain when you keep getting passed by fresh runners...

Krusty_Clown

Euchrid wrote: »

For the relay haters - Edinburgh has a good few relay runners as well. They seemed to manage to keep the changeovers out of the way, but still a pain when you keep getting passed by fresh runners...

This would me an added motivation for me. Passing out the relay'ers. Wimps.

Euchrid

I'm the same, but you can get too much motivation... I remember nearly killing myself at 30km to catch an auld fella who flew past. Relay or not, he wasn't dropping me. I suppose you can see them as your pace makers...

christeb

Damn! In 2 minds now, just checked flights to Girona (Barcelona) with Ryanair. €38 including CC charges and taxes to fly out on the Sat 28th Feb and back Tues 3rd March.


VEEEEERY tempting, also seeing as I haven't been there yet. Let me know if lots are people are going to book so I can get in before they jack up the price!

mark_jmc

Dusseldorf has a very flat marathon- nice course. I did it in 2007 unfortunately there was a heatwave and the temp was 29c but i don't think its like that every year. Cheap flights with ryanair, accomodation reasonable. Its a nice city and there is also the option of getting a train down to cologne (1hour) for sightseeing. I would recommend this marathon especially for someone looking to do a PB.

Stupid_Private

mark_jmc wrote: »

Dusseldorf has a very flat marathon- nice course. I did it in 2007 unfortunately there was a heatwave and the temp was 29c but i don't think its like that every year. Cheap flights with ryanair, accomodation reasonable. Its a nice city and there is also the option of getting a train down to cologne (1hour) for sightseeing. I would recommend this marathon especially for someone looking to do a PB.

Nice one - I'm looking for a fast marathon in May so this could work. Do you've any information on the start of the race, is it crammed etc? Are the water stations any good?

Ideally I'd like something a few weeks later in the month but Edinburgh is out as I've holidays booked for the bank holiday. One race that may suit would be Copenhagen marathon but I don't know much about it. If anyone has info on it it'd be appreciated. Otherwise Hamburg at the end of April is an option.

TheRoadRunner

christeb wrote: »

VEEEEERY tempting, also seeing as I haven't been there yet. Let me know if lots are people are going to book so I can get in before they jack up the price!

A friend of mine ran Barcelona and loved it. I think the entry fee was ridiculously cheap as well. Barcelona is a great place to visit. Girona is also well worth a visit. So if you're fit I'd go for it !

mark_jmc

Stupid_Private wrote: »

Nice one - I'm looking for a fast marathon in May so this could work. Do you've any information on the start of the race, is it crammed etc? Are the water stations any good?

Ideally I'd like something a few weeks later in the month but Edinburgh is out as I've holidays booked for the bank holiday. One race that may suit would be Copenhagen marathon but I don't know much about it. If anyone has info on it it'd be appreciated. Otherwise Hamburg at the end of April is an option.

Hi Stupid_Private,
The start was ok- runners were segregated by estimated finish times, also there was less than 2500 runners so the field spread out very quickly. The water stations were good and plentiful with some of the later stations providing bananas/coca cola etc. At the finishing area there was cream cakes!!, mars bars/coke/beer so that was good!.
Best thing though was very flat marathon- deffo a good one for personal best

rovers_runner

Just entered Barcelona.
Should I have got a confirmation email ?
On the online registration page I see it requests you create a logon ? as in " ID/Passport"?

For anyone that has done this:
Can you recommend any hotels in the city centre?
Is the expo central and close to the race start?

christeb

rovers_runner wrote: »

Just entered Barcelona.
Should I have got a confirmation email ?
On the online registration page I see it requests you create a logon ? as in " ID/Passport"?

For anyone that has done this:
Can you recommend any hotels in the city centre?
Is the expo central and close to the race start?

Damn - I'm very tempted just to book now...

Can I ask what kind of shape you're in currently, i.e. how long are your long runs etc? Ideally I'd like something a tiny bit later in the year, although Barcelona is luring me. At the mo I'm running ca. 20-25 miles per week, will be increasing this and trying to do more slow distance at the weekends also. It's never easy coming up to Christmas Party season though!

Stupid_Private

mark_jmc wrote: »

Hi Stupid_Private,
The start was ok- runners were segregated by estimated finish times, also there was less than 2500 runners so the field spread out very quickly. The water stations were good and plentiful with some of the later stations providing bananas/coca cola etc. At the finishing area there was cream cakes!!, mars bars/coke/beer so that was good!.
Best thing though was very flat marathon- deffo a good one for personal best

Thanks for that. It's definitely on my list of probables now...

rovers_runner

christeb wrote: »

Damn - I'm very tempted just to book now...

Can I ask what kind of shape you're in currently, i.e. how long are your long runs etc? Ideally I'd like something a tiny bit later in the year, although Barcelona is luring me. At the mo I'm running ca. 20-25 miles per week, will be increasing this and trying to do more slow distance at the weekends also. It's never easy coming up to Christmas Party season though!

christeb, I'm just off the back of Dublin, only started back last Monday so and did say 18m or so in the last 7/8 days.
Will start the long runs at the weekend with an 8 or 9.
Will work off 6x2 3x2(mixed with laps on soft ground at gaelic pitch) and a lsr = 25 - 30 miles a week to start with for late Nov, early Dec.

I'd be in decent enough shape but am carrying around a stone more than I want to although not overweight when checking the bmi scale, so might use the cardio stuff in the gym on rest nights for that.

Present plan for '09

1st Sunday in March - Barcelona
Last Sunday in May - Edinburgh
Oct bank holiday - Dublin

hunnymonster

I haven't read all this thread in detail but I'm also looking for a marathon early in the year. I'm thinking Seville because I have the MdS in March and want to get the marathon done on relatively fresh legs (if such exist).

kingQuez

Just registered for edinburgh -- marathon #2 for me. Now I'm just waiting for tri-ireland to publish their calendar so I can pick a triathlon event to aim for

--amadeus--

hunnymonster wrote: »

I haven't read all this thread in detail but I'm also looking for a marathon early in the year. I'm thinking Seville because I have the MdS in March and want to get the marathon done on relatively fresh legs (if such exist).

You thinking of a crack at a seriously fast time?

hunnymonster

--amadeus-- wrote: »

You thinking of a crack at a seriously fast time?

I'm thinking. Will decide in December when I start running properly again.

mithril

Seville marathon for me as well.
There are some really positive reports on this web site about it http://www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=992060226 - fast, scenic and I think it will be nice to get away from Ireland into some warmish weather and polish off some wine and tapas after the race.

I registered via this web site http://www.imd.sevilla.org/maraton_inscripcion.htm all in Spanish but you get by. However I never got a confirmation mail so note the reference number displayed on the screen if you are using it.

hunnymonster

I've decided that seville is too late for me. Luton is too early. need a plan B.

How Strange

I'm looking at Madrid on 26th April. I can't do one any earlier and don't want to do one any later than April as I want to do Dublin as well and need a bit of time in between.

Woddle

I hope those who wanted to do Paris have entered already as it appears to be closed.