Marathon de Monaco et des Riviera

A fantastic marathon. Very tough course though, so do not expect a fast time; but the views of the med and the iconic principality are amazing. You start on the very place the Grand Prix begins. Nice finish in the Monaco soccer stadium. Book hotels early if you wish to stay on Monaco itself, otherwise it may be trip in from Nice or Menton.

The expo was small but organized. Tons of water, sponges, fruit, etc. Very hard route - mountainous terrain. Training in the Swiss Alps would be helpful. Small field - about 1,100 people. They had a 5:30 time limit, but most finished well before that. They have 3 checkpoints, and if you are not there at a certain time, they cross out your bib and remove your chip and you are disqualified. You will be running by yourself for a lot of the marathon. I actually ran with a sheep at one point, which actually had a bib. She was hard to keep up with. She must have done a lot of mountain training. Very fit. The finish was great: One lap in the Olympic Stadium. Monaco is absolutely beautiful; the route was stunning, but the hills were murder. After completing the marathon, several runners were lying all over the track from exhaustion. Wear a visor as well. A lot of sun. Wind can be a factor too. Not a good marathon for a first-timers.

Wow, what a beautiful, scenic race. Wow, what nice spectators, and there were plenty of them. Very encouraging. Wow, what well stocked "water" stations. They not only had water, but pastries, fruit and sugar cubes. I didn't know if I was running a race or eating at a buffet. Wow, what beautiful weather. It's Monaco... they average 300 days of sunshine per year, so chances are you're going to have beautiful skies like we did. Wow, I was beaten by a man running on stilts. Wow, what hills! Monaco is carved into a mountainside so you've got to figure it's going to be hilly. Plus, it's an out-and-back course (across Monaco and France out to Italy), so lucky you - you get to run those hills twice! However, the scenery is just so incredible that you do have something to distract you from your discomfort. I loved this race.