Because of My Failure in Marathon Du Mont Calm, I was desperately finding another marathon to make myself feel ” better” from the DNF ( Did not Finish). To speak the truth, many of the overseas runners are very strong as they have high mountains and tons of difficult and different types of weather and land form conditions to train. Going overseas will make you realise Singapore is really too limited and too small.
The runner bib and my race needs
the beautiful St Lizier
Marathon Banner
At Aulus, runners getting ready to set off, there was little drizzling
the race is pretty much 80% downhill
With a fellow runner from Paris
Finisher towel
Stadium is where it all started and ended
Free beer with the good shower saved the day
Pictures: Scenery from ST LIZIER and ST Girons
Mont calm to me was already a “kamikaze” suicidal effort. Furthermore, I do not train much trails in Singapore and the region and just jumped into the scene. Even for the locals there were many who found Mont Calm rather challenging. There are things to take away from chosing your race:
- Make sure that you are well prepared for it, not just looking at the course and anticipating the depth of it. You need to get on the ground and try it out yourself. Even if there are no similar grounds in Singapore, you should at least simulated the terrain.
- Read up on reviews and blogs of the races. These are helpful to get you ready for the race.
- Train well in advance and also get yourself familiarised with the race route.
Route
Official Website for the marathon: http://www.marathondesoussailles.fr/
This marathon takes place usually around Aug or Sep Annually and is more like a township running affair. It takes place in the historical town of St Girons. The registration and race pack collection is in the Stadium in the town. This is also the start and ending point for the race. Along the way, runners get to also run past the beautiful village of Saint Lizer( check out the wikipedia site: Saint Lizier). It is not international or certified by any IAAF or other running organisations. But the atmosphere and feeling running this race is awesome because of its few participants, good scenery and relatively easy route ( down hill all the way). The few check points through the valley is as such:
AULUS > ERCÉ – 9 km 180
ERCÉ > SEIX – 9 km 375
SEIX > EYCHEIL – 15 km 400
EYCHEIL > ST-GIRONS – 8 km 240
The places mentioned here are all the small towns inside the mountains. They are all very scenic and tranquil, if possible do stay in these towns to experience the true French country side. Although it was already summer, the weather was still pretty cold in the morning. The runners gather around 7 am at the Stadium in St Giron, there were some croissants and hot coffee to feed you before the ” torture” starts. I really like the food provided at races, somehow they just bring a cheer to your day.
The Stadium of St Giron is the start ( to pick you up) and the ending point. The good thing about the stadium is that it provides hot showers and some locker services. Tentage were also set up for the finishing run lunch and Beer!
There were chartered buses awaiting outside to pick up all the runners up to Aulus. By bus, we took about 40 minutes to get up the mountains. As the bus climb up, you can also view the road that you will be running down to. The weather is cold up in the mountains, but the crisp cold air really help with the run as you start to get warmer. Most of the runners are locals. I guess I was the only Asian there. There were no English through the whole race, from the banner to the instructions to the announcements. Therefore it really helps if you can understand French, or at least the most basic.
Through the run
All the way down hill, there were not many water points. So it really helps to bring your own hydration. It is also good that you prepare some gels and energy replenishment. But along every town, there are also kind hearted volunteers preparing the usual dried fruits, water and isotonics. There were even some with coffee and bakes again. So if you are not going for a PB or “rushing for time” then do enjoy what the towns have to offer. The residents will all stand out of their house to cheer on the runners and pass some food or hydration. It was very heart warming.
Being a all down hill race, the pain comes when runners go through Saint Lizier which is up in a small Knoll. This happens at the last few Km of the race. It sure does killed a lot of runners because most are tired by then and the sun is up. But the beautiful scenery that St Lizier have to offer is speechless.
Finishers get a towel, free beer, free food and good shower, there are not much frills about this race but more like a group of enthusiastic runner gathering for a good Sunday workout.
Conclusion
This race although out of the way, it is one of the most enjoyable races I had. I also stayed in a B and B near to Saint Lizier. There are many of such Chambre out in this area as people like to visit St Lizier and St Giron for the heritage and culture that they have to offer. If you like European history or just want to have a simple quiet vacation, this place is really good. But it will be better to drive around this region as the traffic is not that bad and there are also not much public transportation services.