Turin Marathon

Great start on a big square, going through small villages with a lot of enthousiastic spectators. Nice city to stay a few days and enjoy the great food and surroundings

Turin is a beautiful city and the marathon starts and finishes near some of the best buildings. I think the recession in Italy must have hit both the organisation and race package. There were about 3500 runners. The Expro was a small tent in an open square containing about 15 stands of small niche businesses - no big names. The goodie bag contained a running shirt (yellow!), a can of beer, a small bar of chocolate and 2 chewy sweets. There were no maps, no starting instructions, no arrival guide, no way to attach your chip to your shoe and no kit bag. The start was a total disaster. There were no marshalls to stop slow runners standing at the front. There were no separators between starting corrals, so everyone just squashed to the front. I had a front corral, but could not even enter it until after the gun had gone off. Due to the crush of slow runners and narrowness of the start line, it was jammed until late into mile 1. There were almost no overseas runners I heard, and if you didn't know, Italians don't queue. There were pacers with balloons from 3hr to 4hr paces. I have run 11 marathons and never had to fight for space like in Turin. When you get to about mile 2 there is a bit more space and you head out of town along the river. The course is reasonably flat, with no obvious uphill sections. The support is a thin other than at the city centre section. Drink stations were every 5k with only water bottles. The energy drink was in cups, and therefore undrinkable unless you stop. 5k is too long between stations. The final mile had great support and it felt a good finish, although the start took its toll and I finished 3 minutes slower than Milan, in 3:01:25 Once over the line, you didn't get a space blanket, but a piece of wrapping foam, no finishers bag, a very strange medal (that doubled as a belt buckle!) and no proper food. Bits of dry french toast and orange segments are not what you want after 26 miles. Overall the course is pretty fast but Milan is better. The organisation in Turin cut so many corners, that it spoiled the race in a great city.

Well organized marathon. Expo was located near the race start/finish; being in downtown Turin makes it a very special experience the church where the Shroud is kept is just a block away. Pasta dinner is included with the registration fee. Despite having indicated that the package would include a technical shirt, it ended up being cotton. If you are from North America, size XL in Italy is the equivalent to size M. This year's package included a knapsack and discount coupons. The Italian national anthem is played at the start of the race. If you are a Formula 1 fan, it brings you memories of races won by Scuderia Ferrari. There were about 2,000 participants in 2010. There are serious runners showing up in this race from running clubs all throughout Italy, as well as a few from France and Germany, and the regulars from Kenya. In general, there are not many overseas runners. This is predominantly an all-Italian event. You will also see average runners, so do not feel that you are going to be left in the dust. There are pacers with different-color balloons; therefore, they are hard to miss. Keep in mind that they will line up wherever in the start area, but they will make up the gap. The starting section is on cobblestones. A few are missing, so you had better watch it on this section- and there are rails from the electrical train system, which make it very easy to twist an ankle. Once you leave the downtown core, the streets turn to asphalt. With the exception of the few small towns you cross on the course, all streets are wide ,even for North American standards, so don't fear being caged in. Aid stations were located where expected; you could have your own concoctions brought in to a table at designated aid stations, but it is usually reserved for the elite runners. As advertised, they were giving water and Gatorade (orange flavor). This event is a big deal for some of the small towns, so expect lots of support, some of them very well organized. If you have an ankle strap, bring it; otherwise, your timing chip will need to be held in place using your shoelaces. The bib number is bigger than average; it is probably better to just pin it to your shirt, as it could be too big for a race belt. Be prepared to line up for the after-race refreshments, but the lines move fast. I did not use the showers in the finish area, so I cannot comment on their condition. The medal and a heat reflective blanket were given at the finish. If you drive into town the day before, keep in mind that parking can be chaotic. You can park in designated areas marked by blue sections at the side of the streets, but be mindful of the streets that will be used on marathon day, as your car can be towed. Best bet is to park on the parking islands available on streets leading to the downtown core. Parking is free on Sunday, but any other day you need to buy parking tickets - 2 euro per hour - and leave them on the dashboard for each hour up to 7:30 p.m. There is also private parking in the inside area of the parking islands.