Muenchen (Munich) Marathon

A nice way to see Munich, and a beautiful day it was.. a mid-sized marathon, with outgoing crowds when they were there. It felt a bit disorganized and not 100% set-up properly.. at the end, you have to climb many steps out of the Olympic stadium, which seemed like a bit of a cruel joke, and then you had to find someone with clippers to clip off your own chip.. again another first. But mild annoyances for an otherwise pleasant day. I would put it on the neutral to slightly recommended list.

There are several things that I didn't like: - the race is not IAAF certified and very far from flat (mind you) - not all KMs are marked, and there is no marking for miles - everything during the race was written in German only - refreshments quite poor, both during the race and at the arrival - no time display during the race - very expensive to subscribe, quite a poor event shirt which you have to pay separately (35 EUR!!!) - arrival refreshments are shared with the fatty guys running the relays, which are allowed to steal as many brezels and cakes as they wish (disappointing) - no good checking for irregularities along the route, with people having friends coming along with them with the bycicle On the other end, very nice and spectacular passage along Marienplatz and arrival in the olympic stadium.

This was my second marathon. I did it in 4:19. Weather was excellent at around 11-12. I found the organization of the marathon perfect. The route was flat, with few hills. Part of route passes through a garden area. Somewhere in the garden part the roads were not enough wide. Except for that, the route was ok. Support on the route was excellent: Ample water stations, bananas, and energy cakes provided. Sports drink provided was prepared on the spot by a volunteer in a big bucket. The finish in the Olympic Stadium was a grand and unique experience. At the finish line, arrangement for medals, fruit, water, and sports drink were excellent. I enjoyed the finish point and atmosphere there. Marathon expo was excellent. I ran a 5K costume run on the previous day. It was a good experience. Overall, excellent organization; I enjoyed the marathon and would love to run this marathon again. Goody bag was big but was literally empty except a deodorant.