Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives

I am glad that I ran my first marathon in this destination race, and my overall experience was fantastic! The event organization was great and everything went smoothly for a traveller like me. Spectators along the course were among the best I've ever seen. And the course itself was scenic, beautiful, and full of nice varieties. The racing day weather was quite pleasant in comparison with last a few years. Without direct sunshine, last 10K became less demanding. However, cool weather made rookie marathoners like me feel too good and go faster than planned in the descending first half. Then after 21K a few not-so-gentle slopes made me realize that I should have respected the course more and followed all marathon textbook advices about pacing strategy and how to correctly run downhill:) Overall, the SSQ Quebec City marathon is a great event worth to try. It has a tricky but still manageable course, and in turn will provide runners with good lessons and useful marathon experience.

Beautiful Old Quebec City provides a picturesque background to this regional race with a solid history. The course is deceptively difficult and not recommended as a BM Qualifier (unless you are in outstanding shape). Bib p/u was smooth, registration easy and Quebec City provides ample accommodations. But beware, the city is very hilly and touristing before the race will take a lot out of you! Race starts on the other 'Rive' in Lévi, no ferryboats any longer but a shuttle takes you from the Quebec City Vieux Port direct to a non-descript big-stores area of Lévis. Half Marathoners & 10k start separately farther down the route. I found the marathon start (7:30am now) area quite perfunctory and uninspiring. The water was even from a LONG gardening hose and tasted awful. The course follows the vast St.Lawrence and provided good scenery and a light breeze. Volunteers were present but not particularly enthusiastic. Support in general is minimal because the route mostly follows bike trails and non-residential arteries but the occasional sing-song of joual french heard was welcome. Bands are non-existent on the south shores but plentiful (if not the highest quality of musicianship) on the north shores. Expo & Registration is convenient, printed info material is well thought-out. Marathon field was around 1400, with the Half several times larger. Finish area is fairly standard with the expected food & water. No after race party or pre-race pasta dinner that I found. Best: Experienced organization, beautiful area, Québecois culture & background. Worst: Unacceptable quality of water provided along the route, arterial route with a challenging profile.

My wife and I happen to be on vacation in Quebec City, Canada the same weekend as the Marathon so like any other red blooded obsessed marathoner, we signed up at the last moment and ran the 1/2 Marathon. We arrived at the expo at 4pm with only minutes to register before we had to catch our 4:30 ferry back across the river. The volunteers were amazing and expedited us smoothly through the registration process. They spoke French and English. The 8:30am start for the full and the 1/2 marathon in our opinion is much to late given the heat at this time of the year. They should start the full marathon no later than 7:00am, and there wasn't enough uplifting music to energize the runners and what they did have was less than stellar. I highly recommend they add more uplifting bands with a rhythmic beat. In addition, they need more water stations given the August temperatures. On a positive note, this race excels on organization with an amazingly smooth start and finish and some amazing scenery. Overall, the positives outweigh the negatives, and I would recommend this race and a visit to Quebec City.