Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

May 6, 2024

Marathon de Marrakech Runner Comments

Back to Marathon de Marrakech Information & Reviews

Course 3.9

Organization 2.8

Spectators 3.6

Number of comments: 45 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 > ]

Tomasz Szymczak from Poznan, Poland (2/5/2010) "Kids on the way, oranges, flat course, only water" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Marathon de Marrakech COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Nice time to run; however, it can be cold in the morning, There's no place to leave your stuff at the start, and no place to buy drinks or energy bars. It's good that water on the way was in bottles. The last kilometers can be along with cars on the city streets. The sponsors could offer a bit more after you finish, but the course has nice views of the Atlas Mountains and a historic part of the city. It's interesting to experience this and compare it to running in other places.
johanna sarlio from finland (1/31/2010) "Simply wonderful" (about: 2010) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 My first semi-marathon, and what a joy it was. It had a lovely route, with fantastically encouraging people along it, and the Arabian sun and snow-covered Atlas Mountains in view most of the time. It was the most memorable. I will do this again.
ANDY WALKER from GUERNSEY (3/29/2009) "WORTH THE TRIP" (about: 2009) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Marathon de Marrakech COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I really enjoyed this marathon. And what a fascinating place to visit. I didn't expect too much (like a pasta party, bands, huge expo, etc.), so I found the run excellent. The course was flat and well marshaled. There's a chance for a PB if it's not too hot. You basically run a circle around the city. There were lots of kids giving support on the route. There wasn't much food given out on the run, so take your own if you need it. It was well worth the trip. Well done, Morocco.
m. m. from featherstone, england (1/29/2009) "Very good course and some lovely support" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Marathon de Marrakech COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The course was very good - no question - and some of the fans were delightful. OK, it could be better organized, but for a developing country, they did fine, and anyone getting their act together will get a good time. This was my 5th marathon on 5 continents, and I am happy that I did this one for Africa.
A. S. from Edinburgh, Scotland (1/29/2009) "Low-hype marathon but an exotic, easy course" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Marathon de Marrakech COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This is a great run for anyone who can easily reach Marrakech on race day. It is not, however, an event worth training or traveling specially for. The main strength of the Marrakech Marathon is its course: flat, well paved, and meandering through pleasant palm forests and a colorful range of urban settings. The white-capped Atlas mountains stand as a unique contrast to the camels and plantations of the course's middle section. This is not so much a run in Marrakech as it is a run AROUND the city of Marrakech. There are plenty of sponge and water stations. And while no sport-drinks were offered, oranges, dates, raisins, and sugar were available at water tables. A lot of runners were unaware of this provision. Disappointingly, Marrakech and its local population show little pride or interest in this event. As a result the start/finish area is little more than a timing-line and you should not expect any count-down, start gun or event introductions. By contrast, the Saturday marathon village was a festive and well organized prelude to race day. I ran in the welcome run (along with about 600 foreigners) and then watched the very amusing junior race. Throughout the day the marathon village was the site of music, promotions and registration. This must be the most "international" marathon I have taken part in. Seemingly, the majority of runners came from Europe. Moroccan runners are quite fast, so they must have been up front where I couldn't see them.
GIOVANNI GENTILINI from italy (1/27/2009) "awful organization - very low quality services" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Marathon de Marrakech COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 Bad organization: no showers, or buses or shuttle service to/from the start/finish. There was no bag service (!), and no food (!!!) along the race until 25th KM. They just had water. There were no distance markers along the track (every 2.5 KM). There were no timers along the course either. There was also a traffic jam and the website lacked any details about the course and the services offered. The course is enchanting, but the race is badly organized... the worst I've seen and heard about before.
Andy Kitchin from Edinburgh, Scotland (10/8/2008) "flat, fast, tremendous experience" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Marathon de Marrakech COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Marrakech was my first marathon and a great experience it was, too. The city has plenty of interesting sights, souks, culture, and architecture for before and after the race. Enjoy the experience; eat where the locals eat. With no previous experience, I would judge this is a basic, no-frills, small but well organized marathon. No expo or razzmatazz, but these don't interest me anyway. What you get for your money is a good, flat, fast course. Conditions were excellent, with warm, sunny weather, though it was cold overnight. So with the 8:30 start, it was cool and fresh - sub-10 degrees C maybe, rising to perhaps 17 my midday, with 20 degrees for an afternoon peak. There was also very low humidity, which makes for comfortable running. Refreshment stations with bottled water, dates and orange slices (no isotonic or gels) were available every 5K from 5K, and sponge stations every 5K from 7.5K. Supplies were good. I don't think there were any toilets on the route - not an issue for me though. Spectators are thin on the ground, but interested and supportive. If you hear, "Yallah," that's "come on." And your response is, "Shukran" - which is "thank you." The route was kept clear and well marshaled. I finished in just over three hours, and my friend in three and a half. My comments hold good for these times, but I've no reason to think that within the time limit there was any problem with supplies, route etc. The route itself runs largely outside the city, which I enjoyed. Note that the marathon and the half set off together, split, merge, split again and then finish together. No problem with this. The start was a bit of a crush and the race was timed from the gun, not the line. The refreshment stations seemed accurately placed (from my splits) - apart from the sponges at 32.5K - which was very long (I kind of knew it was but I was having a bad spell, so it was tough mentally).
Vesa He from London, England (2/23/2008) "Fast, flat course & exotic running experience" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Marathon de Marrakech COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was a great marathon with flat course mainly ran on wide roads surrounding the town center. I ran my personal best time here. The water stations were well organized with bottled water every 5K. The race started at 8:30 a.m. so it was cool for the first half and only got hotter towards closer to noon, when I finished. Definitely a different kind of marathon running experience compared to big European marathons.
C. M. from Girona, Spain (2/8/2008) "Nice and recommendable" (about: 2008) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Marathon de Marrakech COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Different race, with nice views. Fans were only in some areas, but they were very active. I recommend this marathon.
Gudrun Siegle from Luxembourg (1/30/2008) "Very enjoyable" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Marathon de Marrakech COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Considering this is an "exotic" event in an African country, organization was good with a lot of support during the run. Drivers even handed out water bottles from the cars along the track in addition to the water stops every 5 KM. Food and drinks were ample, though no energy drinks or bars. The atmosphere was very good, with spectators cheering and encouraging the runners all along the way. Even heavily-veiled women were clapping and shouting, which was nice to see! Some local females were running in head scarves and long t-shirts and trousers, which added to the colorful scenery. Negative points: no toilets (no big problem for the men, but what about us women?), and some traffic on the course with stretches of the road having to be run in exhaust fumes. Around noon it got really hot, with the sun blazing on the runners, but then I suppose this can't be helped.. Nice though that the finishing cut-off time of five hours was flexible and even runners coming in at 5:20 still got their medals. All in all, a very successful event.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 > ]

Quick Links

Marathon Search
Upcoming US Marathons
Upcoming International Marathons
Search Marathon Results
Latest Running News
Recent Newsletters
Race Director Tools

Become an Advertiser

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Become an Advertiser

© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC

Privacy Policy Refund Policy Terms of Use