Stockholm Marathon

It was my 108th Marathon, and definitely the worst one. On a very hot day, with the Marathon starting at noon, the organizers didn't provide enough water. At least at half of the water stations, volunteers apologized 'Sorry, no more water!'. At one point, I ran into the Radisson Hotel to get some water there. Every runner around me looked severely dehydrated, many started walking at around 15K. I stopped running and walked from the 30km (which never happens to me), and luckily didn't end up in a hospital. So sad!

In 2023 it was great so I returned in 2024 and was very disappointed. They moved the time from 10 am to 12 pm on a very hot June 1, just so they could keep signing up racers up to the start. How amateur! As we waited to start, they kept bragging about how many more racers they had this year, expecting us to applaud. That extra amount was good for them, not for us. There was total chaos at many of the water stations. Bare tables with little kids holding a bucket of water in one hand and a cup in the other. Here was a "race" where you had to stop running and stand on line just to get a cup of water. At one point I actually drank the water meant for dunking your cap in. At the finish it was about 5 minutes of walking before I was handed a very warm bottle of water. Stay away from this marathon until they fix these problems!