Caen, France
June 2, 2024
https://www.lescourantsdelaliberte.com/fr/page/le-marathon-de-la-liberte
Apr 25, 2024
Current Year Results
Results Search
Biggest/Best Boston Qualifier
2024 Results
2023 Results
2022 Results
2021 Results
2020 Results
2019 Results
2018 Results
2017 Results
2016 Results
2015 Results
2014 Results
2013 Results
2012 Results
2011 Results
2010 Results
2009 Results
2008 Results
2007 Results
2006 Results
2005 Results
2004 Results
2003 Results
2002 Results
2001 Results
2000 Results
☰
Marathon Details - Marathon de la Liberte
International Marathons > France > Caen > Marathon de la LiberteMarathon de la Liberte & Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 10K
| Results: | Top 3 Finishers by Year |
Contact
| Name: | ||
| Address: | Les Courants de la Liberté
Esplanade Dwight Eisenhower - BP 55026 14050 - CAEN |
|
| Phone Number: | 09.72.44.91.49 | |
| Email: | Email the organizers | |
Become a Verified Race, and stand out from the crowd. We feature a blue check  next to verified races on our calendar, and feature your race on the Verified Races section of the website.
|
Get Verified Now |
| Getting ready for this event? Get a personalized adaptive training plan and 1:1 coach assistance. | Get Your Plan |
Reviews
Course 3.7 
Organization 3.9 
Spectators 3.3
Number of comments: 10
|
S. R. from Sydney Australia
(9/19/2016)
 "Good event - well worth participating in" (about: 2014)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Marathon de la Liberte
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I flew from Oz to take part. It was a great run to do. All the history as well as the small town-ness of the experience. Finished the event holding the hand of my six year old son. Which was special. Albeit after being overtaken by a guy in a cow suit. Contrary to the guy below i could find some pics and a finishing video. on the website www.normandiecourse.??? | |
|
R. A. from France
(8/21/2015)
 "Moving, but disappointing" (about: 2014)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Marathon de la Liberte
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 It really should be a great race, and as an American or a national of any other country which participated in D-Day, it is a moving experience to run along the beaches and past Pegasus Bridge. As a tourist destination, I can highly recommend this area. The marathon, however, was not the best. The course is relatively flat, and you can run an OK time, but the course gets really narrow at certain points. At one point, you have to cross a small foot bridge, this caused a back-up where everyone had to walk at around mile 20, not the kind of disruption you want. Right after this, you hit some hills. Organization of aid stations was good, tents after the race were fine. Another big disappointment was the photos. No photos at the finish and only about 30 or so photos of the entire marathon field. They had like 7X as many photos of the 10k race. | |
|
s. p. from Jerusalem, Israel
(2/24/2014)
 "moving experience" (about: 2013)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marathon de la Liberte
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Very inspirational and moving. Quite appropriate for a marathon, to run in the paths of those that 70 years ago opted spirit and vision over practical earthly prospects. The first half goes through beach towns and villages with nice crowds and rock bands. The openness is quite and relaxing. The cons are that a km or two in the last quarter go through tiny winding tracks in the woods, where runners queue and you can't get speed. You should also know that the water and stops are not always at the expected intervals. Lastly, for an outsider it was not easy to figure out the technical matters, as there were no English speaking representatives in the expo and we couldn't even find orientations or explanations in French. | |
|
P. K. from Naples, Italy
(6/19/2010)
"Solid location, but organization could improve" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Marathon de la Liberte
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Great location, and the course has some great sights along Juno and Sword Beach and Pegasus Bridge. However, they misplaced my medical certificate and almost didn't let me run. I checked my email and verified that I sent it 4 months before the race. Registration packet only had chip and number; I had to ask around in broken French where the buses to the start left from and when. The last bus leaves 90 minutes before the start time and it is about a 15-minute drive, so plan on having to wait around at the start for a while with limited bathrooms and other support facilities. Spectators were great the first 12K as it is along city streets, but then they started to taper off as the course started going through less populated areas (sometimes across fields) and through running trails. They did not have sunblock available along the route, so if it is sunny, plan on having a pouch in your shorts or you might get a little burn. Post-race festivities were average. Massages by the French girls was very nice but the wait was over 30 minutes. SWAG bag consisted of shirt (nice NB) and tourism guide (which would have been nice when I registered because it had some good restaurant coupons). Overall, race was marginal. I probably will not run this race again, which is unfortunate because the location is great and running is a great way to celebrate the theme of the race and associated events. | |
|
G. G. from United States
(6/14/2010)
"Great course... very moving!!" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marathon de la Liberte
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This is just my second European marathon, even though I have run more than 40 others in the US. The course was well organized, and the marathon is a perfect size to me - not too big and not too small. The start by the yacht harbor is in a quaint town, and the cafes opened early so the runners could sit inside and have a cup of coffee. You easily walk to the start from the bus transportation, which, unlike New York or Boston, is hassle-free and short. The first part of the race mostly follows the coastline and gives glimpses of Omaha, Juno, Gold and Sword Beaches, and some of the monuments. You even get to run over part of the Pegasus Bridge. The crowds were mostly all over the course, except for the part on the Voie Verte (Greenway), and were very kind and cheered us a lot. The course is hillier than I thought it would be, but despite that and not really being in marathon shape, I ran the best time I have run in 10 years. The downside is that the expo is small and there isn't even a t-shirt or hat with the race's name on it to buy. And in the marathon awards, V1 and V2 awards were only given on stage to first place, even though in the 10K and half marathon, 1st, 2nd and 3rd in overall through V3 were given on stage. It would be nice if the marathon got the same respect. Water (no sports drinks), sugar cubes, oranges and bananas were given about every 5K, and in between water stations there were stations with sponges. This was ok in 2010 since it was not too hot for most of the race, but on a hot day that wouldn't be many fluid stations. These are the reasons for my "organization" score. That said, I would definitely do this race again, and hope to do it again next year. If you decide to run this race, take the time to read up a bit on the history of D-Day (Jour-J in France) and the Battle of Normandy. | |
|
Mike Tivnen from London
(11/2/2009)
"Well organized, flat and pretty summer marathon." (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Marathon de la Liberte
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 It's very difficult to find summer marathons in Europe that aren't ultras or extreme in some way. I wanted one as a stepping stone to the NYC Marathon. This was ideal: a well organized, pretty course and plenty of refreshments (bananas and oranges as well as drinks) en route. You couldn't ask much more. The train from Paris is fast and comfortable. But the stations in town are a long way from the race center. So I stayed in the Otelinn Caen Memorial, which is only a few hundred meters from the finish and from where the buses leave for the start of the race - perfect. The race is point-to-point, the buses taking you to the start farther up the coast at Courseulles-Sur-Mer. The journey's quicker than you would imagine as the bus route "cuts the corner" of the race route. Courseulles is a small port/fishing town that smells a little too strongly of poisson! There was a nice area to warm up in, with sufficient toilets (skip the queues and use the traditional hole in the ground variety in the green!), and trucks to leave your bags on. The coastal road tends to be set back from the coast, so you see plenty of old towns but not many sea views. Then you cut back along the river at Ouistreham and follow the riverbank for a few miles before cutting across country and lots of fields. As you finish the race, Caen is not the most inspiring of sites to greet you, but the welcome is friendly enough, and the expo is there for you to join in - unless, like me, you feel sick and just want to sneak off to your hotel for a lie down. The marathon is part of a festival of running. In fact the race itself - although it used to be called the Caen Marathon - is known as Les Courants de La Liberte (there's not even a mention of a marathon in the title). Slightly disappointingly, then, the marathon doesn't appear to be given any more status or respect than the half marathon or the other shorter races. Combined with the small crowds, I found this slightly dispiriting. I struggled to keep my morale up round the course (though the rock music referred to by another runner was an occasional pick-me-up) and ended with a PW! The other minor disappointment was, on returning home, discovering that there were no finishing photos - just a rag bag of shots at various points round the course, which you have to trawl through manually in order to spot yourself. Oh, and no silver blankets at the end - which I think should be standard issue for marathons. Next time I'm taking my own! All in all, though, definitely worth doing if you want a well organized summer marathon on a pretty, not-too-challenging course. | |
|
S. R. from Seattle, WA
(6/18/2009)
"Flat, with nice coastal scenery" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marathon de la Liberte
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I agree with first author who said, "Interesting, flat, well-organized." Nice point-to-point, with lots of coastline, historical monuments, quiet coastal villages, some farmland, and surprisingly robust fans and bands. It was not too crowded, but not totally deserted, and well-stocked with water, oranges, and bananas. Don't expect any porta-potties on the course. Weather was humid, but cloudy and in the mid-60's. A few words about Caen: I happened to be in Paris for work the week before, and it was an easy two-hour train ride. I stayed downtown in a cheap and clean hotel, which was near a bustling pedestrian area full of cafes and shops, lots of churches/architecture/museums. Warning: the race finish and expo are pretty far from downtown, and you need a car/bus. Once you get there, the shuttle to the start is easy. You could stay near the memorial, but less to do there. No buses were to be found on Sunday, so I took cab there (then walked nearly 4 miles back to hotel after the race). Also, downtown is COMPLETELY shut down and deserted on Sunday, so make sure you have a contingency plan for food (the Normandic food at the end of the race was nice, but there is only so much brie you want to chow after a marathon; there were no open restaurants to be found except across town, so I ended up at Subway). Maybe not as glamorous as races in Switzerland and Barcelona, but overall, a good race to do in France, and overall a worthwhile experience. | |
|
J. H. from Paris, France
(6/14/2009)
"Good organization; flat, scenic course" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marathon de la Liberte
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 After mild weather all week, it warmed up quickly on race day. Organizers provided plenty of water and sponges throughout. I passed 3-4 medical tents along course. Spectators are sparse, but there were cows aplenty. Pros: > reasonable entry fee > good destination race - many monuments nearby > organization was fairly seamless > mid-size race > bands along course were well placed Cons: > the medal reflects low entry fee > the course is same as at other races; buses drop you at the start an hour or more prior to the start > refreshments afterward were a bit sparse > I was unable to locate showers afterward, and there were few English-speaking volunteers to help Overall, this is a good race; it has good sponsors, and the race director knows what he is doing. | |
|
Bettina Schreiber from Hamburg (Germany)
(6/16/2006)
 "very hot" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Marathon de la Liberte
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The marathon is not as flat as the big-city marathons like Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne.... Even running next to the coast the first 15 KM you cannot see it for most of the time. It was terribly hot and the ambulance had to come more than 200 times. | |
|
c. v. from USA
(2/23/2004)
"Worth it" (about: 1995)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran this marathon 10 years ago, and remember the course to be interesting, flat, and well organized. Half was run alongside the coastline, and it was windy, especially in the morning. |
© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC
