Fastest European Marathons according to my Stryd

Wottle · 28-10-2021 9:16am #1

Not sure how accurate it is below, although I always felt Dublin was 3 minutes slower than Berlin.

I also added Edinburgh which came out number 1 but it appears to have a net downhill profile.

I'm going for Seville in Feb but definitely considering Amsterdam.

My Stryd power says my marathon power is 283 watts. I went looking for the marathons below on Strava and downloaded the gpx file and then used another site to add time stamps. This then allowed me to add the course to the stryd site where I could put in my 283 for each race individually.

For those who've ran a few of these, what do you think? Do you agree with the ranking?

1.Rotterdam 3'22'39 - Apr 10th 2022

2.Amsterdam 3'22'56 - Oct 16th 2022

3.Manchester 3'24'11 - Apr 3rd 2022

4.Berlin 3'24'21- Sept 25th 2022

5.London 3'24'22 - Oct 2nd 2022

6.Valencia 3'24'41 - Dec 5th 2021

6.Seville 3'24'41- Feb 20th 2022

8.Frankfurt 3'24'40 - Oct 9th 2022

9.Paris 3'25'05 - Apr 3rd 2022

10.Prague 3'25'45 - Apr 29th or May 6 2022

11.Vienna 3'25'57 - Apr 24th 2022

12.Helsinki 3'26'20 - Aug 20th 2022

13.Barcelona 3'26'42 - Nov 7th 2021

14.Dublin 3'27'15 - Oct 30th 2022

FinnC · 28-10-2021 12:38pm

Very interesting thanks for posting. I have a Stryd but rarely use it. Do you use it a lot?

Wottle · 28-10-2021 12:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084748#Comment_118084748

For every run, just make sure you keep your CP accurate.

FinnC · 28-10-2021 1:11pm

Would you use it combined with Pace and HR or would you exclusively run by power?

Wottle · 28-10-2021 1:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118084900#Comment_118084900

Power and pace. I'm starting to trust the stryd more and more, so little need for the HR. Maybe for easy I still keep a small eye on HR.

I made the table above and it's amazing how accurate the power & pace (on the flat) relationship is.

This morning I had a Fartlek session on a very undulating Couse, I only looked at power and tried to keep the fast splits at 316. So pace was all over the place because of course but effort was consistent.

noelearly · 24-01-2022 6:29pm

Done 4 of them above marathons, Berlin, Frankfurt,Dublin and Seville. I'd have to say Frankfurt mainly due to the weather, Seville was humid, But hard to beat Dublin for atmosphere. The 3 others had poor support.

rom · 02-02-2022 12:32am

Experienced all top 5 except Manchester.

Rotterdam - Issue is the team relay that unless you have a fast time they will slow you up and frustrate you. Personally running a marathon you want everyone else in the same pain at 20 miles onwards. No people just starting. Long parts with zero support

Amsterdam - Route is super boring. leaving the city. It can be quite cold then so that it probably effects times, humidity can be higher. Didn't run it as was ill after collecting bib.

Manchester - Well they need to measure it right as they haven't before. Humidity high also I presume

Berlin - Interesting route, very little turns, humidity and temp good. This is why this get the records. Inland, height of buildings is perfect to cast a shadow and block wind.

London - fast downhill start can have people push hard on this one but there are a lot of turns so it effects the overall time. very hard to get perfect conditions. humidity can be higher as near the coast.

Wottle · 02-02-2022 4:43pm

Hi @rom from a course profile pov, how do you think the list holds up?

I've decided to Amsterdam instead of Dublin, given that it appears to be 4 minutes quicker than Dublin for a 3'30 marathoner.

echancrure · 03-02-2022 5:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058215214/fastest-european-marathons-according-to-my-stryd

Great post: correction though Frankfurt is 30th October 2022 (same day as Dublin)

echancrure · 03-02-2022 6:12pm

I created a Bar chart in a spreadsheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uazk0c6XMAfy80YWZV1Jigc1WeE1El9MFEH-HAoEiE8/edit?usp=sharing

Feel free to add comments directly.

Wottle · 03-02-2022 7:27pm

Bar chart looks great, thanks for that. I'd love to hear from runners who've raced a few to see how they compare.

TFBubendorfer · 04-02-2022 10:39am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118577424#Comment_118577424

Of the ones listed I've done Manchester, Berlin, Vienna and Dublin, and I'd very much agree with that chart. There's not much difference between Manchester and Berlin, Vienna is a tiny bit slower and Dublin definitely adds a couple of minutes.

rom · 10-02-2022 11:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118571415#Comment_118571415

I think you made the right choice. However you need to look at the temps on raceday there over the last few years and get used to it might be a lot colder. It is probably similar cold to Dublin but I know it can be a little warmer in Cork and I found it a big drop. It might be as much a change to yourself. Expo is a bit out of the City and the marathon is really something that is going on that has zero effect on the city compared to Dublin/Rotterdam etc. So great route but I think big crowds make big city marathons. You will do great as you are flying with training.

ariana` · 10-02-2022 1:53pm

I was over in Amsterdam last year, only ran the Half in the end but agree with @rom, the course was super boring, mostly through industrial estates. The morning of the race weather was good, we had a bit of sun that morning, but we stayed 3 nights and in general I found it very very cold over there coming from here. Mind you it was lovely and dry, great for sight seeing.

echancrure · 10-02-2022 4:01pm

I made the plunge for Frankfurt (goodbye messy DCM) based on it being a fast course, the day after is a bank holiday for us, and it appears cooler than Amsterdam (2 weeks later, more inland), the finish looks interesting (indoor stadium), it is not sold out (unlike Berlin), it is a good time of the year for me.

I don't mind boring, I don't mind no support from crowds (actually find that distracting and makes me forget about running form).

This one is all about time...

Sandwell · 10-02-2022 4:36pm

Signed up for Amsterdam last week myself. Looking forward to a flat, fast course in hopefully pretty ideal racing conditions. I've done the tourist thing over there a good few times so not too bothered about the lack of sightseeing opportunities on the route.

Fastest European Marathons according to my Stryd

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