Siberian Int'l Marathon

Ten years in Hawaii adapted me to heat but THIS was off the radar! It took the ultimate will to finish. It rocked a fellow Ironman to his demise so be prepared! Not many western foreigners but runners from very unique places that share their excitement at the expo which is really unique with a fun show and lots of local honey and jam. Dig in! A guide was assigned to help with tours and shuttle. Don't bet on this. He did a crappy job to say the least. He put us in the wrong area at race start so we ended up running the 5k and finishing only to backtrack (yes, upstream against 1,000's runners) to the turn off which ended up being the 10k loop that took us to same finish. It was a nightmare for sure but we weren't expecting to win it so we did our best to get on track and we certainly knew where the finish was! NO ONE spoke english but we finally got on course. It was hilarious being a front runner at mile 11! They would NOT let us run back through (as if we hadn't for the past freaking hour) so we jumped in where we could. Course was flat and semi interesting. It was SOO bloody hot and to add insult to injury they ran OUT of water the last few stations. In 90 degree heat this sucked!! I luckily had money and bought drinks with others at a stand nearby. Crowd decent for area. Huge field of entrants, most run the shorter races. Wasn't planning on running every category of race here but it was an experience for sure! Got interviewed by TV station trying to get directions. People were so happy we came and wanted pictures. Lots of wedding people in full garb come too. Worth the 1 minute of fame. It's Siberia so lighten up. If you want perfection stay in your own country! This is for adventure and that's what I got!

We paid by credit card prior to arriving. We received our bib numbers at the sign-in, and then the race officials said we had to pay again. They claimed they had no record of us paying, yet they had all of our information. It was bogus. The ripped us off knowing that we had no choice. They also threatened to take us to jail if we did not pay again. We'll never do this run again. Only water on the course - no tea or energy drinks as advertised. Hot and smokey weather.

Don't expect cool temperatures... this is Siberia, all right, but summers are short and... hot! We were lucky to run at about 25 degrees (and not over 30, as it had been the previous days). Still, there was ample water along the course and it is fairly flat, so there's a chance for PB times. This is a loop run, so you have to retrace your steps; however, this gives you a chance to see the top runners passing by, which I found interesting. The audience is very enthusiastic, albeit thinning out when leaving the city center. Lots of activities, including an awesome medal ceremony and celebration surrounding the event. This is a main annual event for the town and at least for the 5K race, it seemed that everyone was running too. By the way, don't worry too much if you don't speak the lingo or don't know your whereabouts - the Siberian Marathon Association did an absolutely fabulous job in looking after the foreign participants, not only for the race but before and after for sightseeing, food, etc. There was no chance of us feeling lost or lonely. Absolutely recommendable... go for it!