Marathon de la baie du Mont St Michel

Quite a small marathon - less than 4,500 runners this year, so it makes a nice change from the big city events. Overall it was very, very enjoyable. The Brittany/lower Normandy region is very picturesque, the course was enjoyable and interesting, and the organization of a high standard. There was plenty of local support along the way, but also plenty of quiet stretches. Water (bottle) points were every 5km with a couple of extras thrown in. I'm glad however I took my own gels though as it would have been a bit of a scramble to try and rely on the stations for food (mostly fruit and cereal bars). The course starts with a short hill - not so practical as it gets the heart rate up quickly and causes a bit of a slowdown. To get around this I just incorporated a slow first couple of kms into my pacing plan and it was fine. There's also a surprise x-country/unpaved road stretch around km32 with a couple of bumps, as well as some false flats. Nothing bad but probably enough to catch the struggling runner off-guard. It's mostly pancake-flat though - so not a blistering course, but fairly fast nonetheless and certainly not difficult. The main problem was heat - the race started at 21 degrees, but the last 45 minutes (10kms) of my run were in 27 degree sunshine, which made a fast finish hard. It was quite windy, but that was mostly a tail wind. Previous years have seen headwinds. Next year they're bringing the race 2 weeks forward, presumably hoping for slightly cooler weather. Cancale and Mont St. Michel are very pretty, and it was nice to enjoy good value seafood (oysters and mussels) in Cancale. The expo was in St. Malo, a very pretty town with a beach, so it doubled as a great family weekend too. The mount is of course stunning, though a bit choked with tourists/buses at the end of the race. The shuttle buses worked well though. A nice thing was being able to dip the legs into cool sea water at the finish - helped the recovery! Final point: we stayed in the 'Nuit et Jour Cancale' hotel in Cancale, which had reasonably-priced family rooms with mezanine beds for the kids. Breakfast in the hotel was an extra and a bit pricey, but the hotel itself was fine and decent value. There are also plenty of excellent bed & breakfast ('chambre d'hotes') options in the area. I'd recommend this course to any midpack runner (3 hours plus) who is tired of the jostling and elbowing at big city events, or any runner who likes to combine the run with a bit of tourism.

I'm a fan of this marathon. Good organization, and a very professional and cordial welcome. About the race: flat, but unfortunately, it was windy (this year). We ran through beautiful villages, had a constant view of the Mont, and ended with an unforgettable finish supported by many spectators.

Highly recommended! A mostly flat route that passes through villages and nature. Excellent organization of the event. One thing was against the runners - the wind. 42 KM of the wind in the face! Whoever runs in the coming years should take this into account. Overall, highly recommended!