Rhein-Marathon Dusseldorf

I booked the Metro Dusseldorf Marathon on an early bird ticket & had no regrets after that as I was constantly updated by the organizers both on Facebook & by email. I was also lucky to stay in a great accommodation in Victoriaplatz, 10mins walk to the start point, and to have perfect weather on the Race Day. The Race Pack Collection was efficient & hassle free, at Berliner Alle near Konigsallee. It offered many affordable sportswear & nutrition items. The marathon started promptly at 9am at the Kunstpalast Museum, Victoriaplatz. The course was flat & fast, and it was an official Boston Marathon qualifier (though this didn't apply to me). Cheer support was excellent with musical groups & percussion bands almost every 5km. The route was mostly on roadway, with two scenic bridge crossings over River Rhein. The whole course was shaped like a star/flower giving runners a panorama of the city, & bringing runners back to the Old City at Altstadt on a few occasions. Hydration points, toilet facilities & first aid stations were well-spaced & regular. Distance markers were clearly displayed. There were lots of greenery & the people were gracious, friendly & called runners by our names to encourage us. Besides the full marathon, there were 'Staffel Teams' running in specially designed 'Relay Blocks' of 11.3km, 13.1km, 9.2km & 8.6km distances, who had started their runs later, at 9.45am & 10.15am. Relay runners could pick their preferred distances & the faster runners may choose the longer stretches, or the one with a river crossing. This added variety to runners of different fitness. This was a very thoughtful & powerful way to encourage a 'Sports for All' activity during a marathon. There was no Half Marathon but the 2km Kids Club was run at the Lower Rhein Promenade on the same day. The Finish Point of the marathon was at Tonhalle, along the Rhein River, near the Old Town area. Here, enthusiastic photographers were present for photoshoot as runners were given our marathon medals worn round our necks for us by friendly volunteers. The medals for the finishers of the Full Marathon & Staffel Relays were different. I returned comfortably within the full marathon cut-off time & wandered into the Basilica St. Lambertus near Altstadt after the run to offer thanksgiving for a safe & enjoyable race.

Although the weather wasn´t that great, cold and windy, I had a blast running the 2016 Dusseldorf Marathon! The course is pretty flat and has plenty of aid stations with gel/water/sport drinks/banana. The organisation is superb. The staff is friendly, the website has all the information you need and on race day there are clear signs where to go. Because the course has a star like shape you can meet up with your supporters pretty often without forcing them to cover larges distances. Just stay around the Hofgarten park and within 2km you can meet at the 7km, 12km, 23km en 34km mark. The crowd was spectacular along the whole course. Kids with big high fives, music ensembles and a lot of funny signs. Just great!

The course was really pretty flat, except maybe the 2 bridge crossings across the Rhein. But they were minor. Plenty of aid stations. It was great having Coca Cola as a choice at a bunch of the aid stations. Ran throughout the neighborhoods and tourist places. I had taken the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus around the City the day before, and quite a bit of the race course covered the tourist spots. [I really enjoyed that a lot of downtown streets are for pedestrians only - easy for shopping and going to restaurants that had a lot of which have outdoor seating.] The weather was just right. Temperature seemed in the low sixties. We had mostly overcast with a little bit of sun and a touch of rain along the course. We finished along the Rhein River in the Old Town area. Couldn't believe it, it was incredible - we could shower and get a free massage after the race. Spectators were great. They were calling your name because your name was printed on THE race bib. There were cafe's along the course where people were eating, drinking, and cheering. Aside from the marathon, there is the relay race, with I think, over 2000 teams. Seeing these relay racers running on the course, encouraged me to keep going as fast as I could. I was treated so well in Dusseldorf. I am looking forward to coming back again and again.