The artist was Owen Paul, for those too young to remember & Marathons (occasionally a little bit longer) are indeed my favourite waste of time. A year ago I listed my top 100 marathons but in the footsteps of Nadia I have decided to trim that down a bit & go for a top 20. I'm sure this will be controversil & I'm sure folks wont agree but here goes ;
20)Robin Hood, Nottigham UK - my first English marathon & my 100th Combined Marathon/Ultra - Great Organisation with a fantastic start & finsih area in the Park & a lovely medal usually featuring the archer himself in Lincoln Green.I've run this every year from 2006 - 2011.Sadly Construction in the city means no 2012 event, but hope to see it back soon.
19)Cork, Ireland - I was out there to see my good friend Dave Ross complete his 100th marathon in 2008, there was a good contingent of friends in attendance & the course took in the city & the banks of the river, we all ran in fancy dress I was Forrest Gump. www.corkcitymarathon.ie/
18)Cowtown,Fort Worth,TX - Well organised event & going through the cobblestones of the Fortworth Stock Yards was fun, good support on the course & a good medal too. www.cowtownmarathon.org/
17)Seattle,WA - Starting beneath the Space Needle with lots of lakeside views heading through the park, the final 8 miles have a real sting in the tail with some short sharp climbs to the finish in Memorial Stadium. www.seattlemarathon.org/
16)Post Oak Lodge 50km,Tulsa,OK - a tough twisty technical off road race but I nailed it squeezed in a fraction over 5 hours for 6th place,Some great views from the top overlooking the Tulsa skyline plus great aid stations & the best marshalls ever really gave you a lift & they even have an on course beer station before each of the 2 climbs up "the hill from hell" huge flat metal medal the size of a CD - my biggest to date & locally made. www.postoakrun.com/
15)Malta, we headed out to Malta as a big group & lots of friends were on hand to welcome Naomi Prasad on completion of her 100th marathon & still in her 20's the youngest female to do so. A twisty course up high above the harbour before dropping down to run the flat final couple of miles & the sun came out for the second half of the race too, Another chunky medal to add to the collection. www.maltamarathon.com/index_oct01.htm
14)Night of Flanders, Belgium - An evening marathon in the summer & a real festival atmosphere running along the Poppy Fields so iconic of World war 1,Running a race & finishing a couple of minutes before midnight in the city square while everyone partied was a fantastic finish. www.nvv.be/en
13)Barcelona, Spain - Just muu 9th marathon way back in 2007, It was a pleasant warm day - 80 degrees & the course starts downtown with the fountains erupting to signal the start of the race, the Course also takes in the beaches & coastline before heading back to the centre, knowing I was going to get only my 3rd sub 3.30 - I spread my wings & weaving from side to side I flew hoe like an Aeroplane & it's since become my trademark finish :) www.zurichmaratobarcelona.com/
12)Athens Classic,Greece - To start in the town of Marathon & run into the Iconic Ancient Olympic stadium was truly inspirational, I as lead to believe it was a tough course so went out easier than i should of there's a gentle incline the first 18 miles but gente being the key. Great goodie bag, public transport included in your race entry & a very special arena to finish in. www.athensclassicmarathon.gr/marathon/fMain.aspx?lang=el-GR
11)Salzburg, Austria - A small marathon sponsored by a brewery with free beer & started by a Bond girl from the movie Casino Royale what's not to like ? The course starts in Mozartplatz heading out along the river, before running through forrests in the base of the Alps & out to Holmbrum Palace & it's beautiful gardens. www.salzburg-marathon.at/bin/sam_default/index.php
10)Bratislava,Slovakia - a hidden Gem of a race (I've run Prague & that doesn't make this list) A flat fast course starting in the old town & heading out past the castle & over the UFO bridge, 2 laps & a good finishing straight - A unique Perspex medal with engraved gold plated centre. www.bratislavamarathon.com/sk/aktuality.html
9)Paris, France - A huge event with 40,000 lined up on the Champs d'elysee in front the Arc De Triomphe makes for a fantastic spectacle, the route runs past the Eifel Tower along the banks of the River Seine & heads through the tunnels where the shouts of "Allez" echo down it's length, The event pases the racecourse & Roland Garos finishing back near it's starting point - a chunky medal featuring the main 2 landmarks. www.parismarathon.com/index_us.html
8)Berlin, A super fast super efficent well organised race - 8 lanes of road for the start & 3 wave starts eliminate congestion on the course, A PB/PR/WR course - the medal celebrated Haile's 2007 World Record & for good measure he broke his own record on that day in 2008 - free beer at the end too :)
www.bmw-berlin-marathon.com/en/
7)Las Vegas, NV - a moving party for the first 6 miles as we headed down the strip from the Mandalay Bay - the route was flanked by amongst others the Blue Man group & we started to a live performance of Viva Las Vegas from one of the Casino Elvis tribute acts, I donned my white jumpsuit & ran as the king, When in Rome & all that !! The second half of the course is perhaps a little dull, but where else in the world would you stop for a wedding & have a Bud dressed as Elvis to mark the 5 mile point ?!! www.runrocknroll.competitor.com/las-vegas
6)New York City,NY - Where it all began, my first marathon, I was only ever going to do one - honestly !! The Verrazno straits bridge is the most Eye catching start as 35000 head off weaving through all 5 boroughs & finishing in Central Park,great support on thre course & especially as you head out of the darkness on the Queensbrough bridge down a tight hairpin bend with so many on hand cheering.A lovely unique medal & a real sense of satisfaction & dinner below the Empire State Building wearing my medal felt great - I was a marathoner & that could never be taken away from me. www.nycmarathon.org
5)Chicago,IL - Great stating in location in the park & starting off to the sounds of Born to Run really puts your game face on for the day,Chicago as a city really does have a very special feel to it & hat spills over into the race, huge crowds line the route & with some greatly creative, inspirational & fun signage. The Race weaves between the skyscrapers & across the river, through Chinatown & back with an uphill finish into the park - great organisation, lovely medal & great finishing zone - free beers live bands playing a real party in the sunshine :) www.chicagomarathon.com
4)Amsterdam, Netherlands - A great fun city with a well organised billiard table flat course starting & finishing in the Olympic stadium, You head past the Rijks Musseum & out to the town along a boating lake - with locals rowing & a view of the Kenyans leading on the far side. I had my first sub 3.30 here & my first sub 3.15 so you can see why it's one of my favourites. www.tcsamsterdammarathon.nl
3)Windermere, UK - strangely I can't actually claim to have run the official Windermere marathon, but alongside the main marathon the same organisation stage 10 marathons in 10 days on the same course with day 10 setting off an hour before the main marathon field, I have been lucky enough to have completed this event on 3 occassions - a scenic lap of Britain's largest lake with views of boats & steam trains, rolling hillsides & quaint country pubs, a beautiful part of the world with a course that in places can be challenging including a tough up hill finish. www.brathaywindermeremarathon.org.uk
2)Florence,Italy- The most beautiful city I have ever been to - the marathon starts high above the city with fantastic views of the Cathedral (Il Duomo) sections pass through the wonderful plazas with fantasic architecture, running along the lake towards the Ponte Vecchio is fantastic - a super quick downhill course that finishes in front of St Croce Church, I've run it twice & each time got a fantastic long sleeved shirt & the medals featured Michaelangelo's David & in 2009 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Telescope Gallileo. My 2009 run is my one & only Boston Qualifying time & proud to have made qualification for the biggest of them all. www.firenzemarathon.it
So you are now thinking what could be number one ? London,Prague,Rotterdam ? none of these made the top 20. Ideally I'm not an ultra runner & love the 26.2 mile distance so might come as a suprise to find number one on my list is the longest race I have ever done.
1)Comrades,Durban,South Africa - This annual event is the biggest sporting event in South Africa & the 2010 event made the Guiness book of world records as the world's biggest Ultra marathon. The course reverses direction between Pietermaritzburg & Durban each year - giving either an up run or a down run - I ran the down to Durban finishing in the Kingsmead cricket stadium in front of a packed house of 50,000 - Different medals based on time - I came home with a Bronze for a sub 11 run (9.47) The event has a fantastic feel as runners from across the globe forget their colour, religon, nationality & differences to unite together as simply runners. www.comrades.com/
So there you have it, I'm sure there will be those whose who argue but it's my list !!
