Zürich CityRun : Race Review

Well that was an interesting weekend.

I love Zürich, I really do. I’ve loved it since the first day we visited back in September 2010 but I think the main reason I like it so much is because it has everything Geneva doesn’t in terms of variety and lifestyle and well just about everything. I now also love Zürich because of the awesome time I ran this weekend (more on that in a moment). But Zürich has a tarnished record now where I’m concerned because this race was far from enjoyable and I would even say go so far as to say that Geneva trumps Zurich in their Marathon weekends. Ouch!

First off, race entry price. Races can be expensive, I understand that, but at CHF 110 for the marathon and CHF 55 for the CityRun, it is an expense race even by Swiss standards! We paid CHF 85 for the Lausanne Marathon and CHF 45 for the Lausanne 10KM in October 2013 and just recently paid CHF 85 for the Geneva Marathon and CHF 45 for the Geneva 10KM. Sorry Zürich, you’re off to a bad start. Score of -1 for cost.

On to the marathon expo and pasta party. We don’t really spend a long time at the “marathon expo”, we’re there only to collect our bibs and race packs. And the only pasta party we’ve been to was in Amsterdam so I don’t really have a wide base for comparison, BUT… this pasta party was bad! Amsterdam Marathon Pasta Party offered a buffet of pasta, salad, yogurt, fruit and water. Zurich Marathon Pasta Party offered one bowl of pasta per person. That’s it. One small bowl of pasta per person. Score of -1.

Next is the race pack. This is the best part because usually this is where you get a bunch of freebies. The best freebie I’ve ever received was a camelbak drink bottle from the Geneva Marathon in 2012 so no amount of free muesli or washing powder is going to win here. The race pack of freebies was average; contained more brochures than edible items and the bag was not of the reusable kind so I’m going to have to give it a score of -1 on the race pack.

Finisher t-shirts and race medals are up next. Between my husband and myself we’re starting to build quite a collection of race t-shirts and medals and surprisingly enough I haven’t yet received two the same colour!! I remarked to my husband the other evening that we should start some kind of memorial wall in the study of all our race medals and bibs etc.. a project for a rainy/snowy day next winter 🙂 Well can I tell you that I’m pretty impressed with the Li Ning t-shirt I got in Zürich; good size ranges, great fit (which is quite a feat in itself considering my midget size), nice feel, excellent breathability (I wore it on race day so it’s been tested) and high visibility (neon yellow!). The medals on the other hand we ho-hum. Not bad, but nothing fancy. Overall I think it has to be a score of +1 on t-shirts and medals.

Finally, the race. Boy was this bad! I’m not talking about my performance here, because that was pretty amazing if I do say so myself, but the organisation of the race. Waiting at the start line 15 minutes before the race there was no music being played to get everyone psyched up, there was no warm up being yelled down the megaphone, there was no excitement or atmosphere at all! The marathon runners set off at 8:30am (after the gun shot going off 3 minutes early), followed by the relay marathon runners at 8:38am, followed by the CityRun participants at 8:40am. Now I may be only speaking for myself here but I tend to run my 10KM races at a significantly faster pace than a half-marathon or full marathon, so to schedule the start of the CityRun on 10 minutes after the start of the full marathon seems a bit ludicrous to me. I spent the entire race weaving in and out of relay runners and marathon runners, passing the 5h30m group, then the 5h00 group, then the 4h30m group and then the 4h00 group. I can only imagine what that must have done to the mentality and focus of those marathon runners, to be passed by thousands of CityRun runners throughout the entire first 10KM of the race! Definitely a score of -1 on the race organisation.

Amazingly, after hardly any training runs in recent weeks and with having to constantly pass a million people during the race, I finished the 9.8KM Zürich CityRun (yes, 9.8KM, they couldn’t even make it an even 10KM!!!) in 42m29s, placing 38th out of 1,114 women.

Zürich Marathon / CityRun, you are totally overpriced and with a score of -3/5 we won’t be signing up for you again anytime soon.

The Ups and Downs of Running

I’ve had a bit of a rough trot (again!) with my marathon training and so I’ve reluctantly signed myself up for the 10KM race at the Geneva Marathon in May instead of the half-marathon I’ve been training for. *sigh*

I haven’t really posted anything related to running or my half-marathon training recently because, well, there’s nothing report on as I’ve managed only 5 runs in the past 4 weeks. According to my dear husband, I’ve been going too hard (again) and haven’t given my legs a chance to really strengthen up for the speeds I want to be running at. I know he’s right but there are some days, very few days, but there are some days when I have a really amazing run at my goal speed and it fills me with so much hope and thoughts of being able to continue forever. But then there will be one day, just one day, when my calves start cramping at 10KM or 12KM mark just to spite me and force me to a halt for at least a week. This up and down cycle of running has been happening for a few weeks now, to the point where I now no longer run to a set pace, where I am no longer following any sort of training plan and where I am no longer running more than 12KM. And so my half-marathon in May has flown out the window and doesn’t look like returning any time soon.

I’m really enjoying my runs at the moment – the one’s that don’t hurt. The spring weather in Geneva is gorgeous and I’m having such a great time running along the lake and taking in the beautiful surrounding mountains, newly planted spring flower beds and boats out on the lake. I love being outside, filling my lungs with fresh air, wind in my hair, dodging the tourists crowding the Jardin Anglais.

I’m happy to be running and signing up for races but I just wish I could do more. I just wish I could run for more than 1 hour without a hiccup. I just wish my legs would once and for all sort themselves out so that I can get in some damned proper training.

I’m off to run in Zürich this weekend. The husband will be running his 4th Marathon whilst I run the 10KM and then wait patiently for him at the finish line.

Wish us luck x

Foulées Automnales de Meyrin 10KM Race

Autumn was packed full of activities. We started off with the Berlin Marathon, followed by a weekend of hiking in and around Kandersteg, then there was the Lausanne Marathon where I ran the 10KM, followed by another weekend of hiking in Emmental and another 10KM race at the end of November.

The Foulées Automnales de Meyrin is a little local fun run around Meyrin – Meyrin is our neighbouring commune and a short hop, skip and jump from our apartment. Just over 100 women participated in the race while almost 300 men dominated the course. It was a beautifully clear day and we were due to set off at 13h30. I wasn’t feeling up to running though, after a girl’s night out the night before, and knowing all the hills that were part of the course did not help to ease my thoughts of wanting to hitch a tram ride back to the apartment. I didn’t really prepare for this race either; I did maybe 3 or 4 short runs in the 4 weeks leading up to this race… so yeah, not ideal.

It was a nice course (apart from all the hills), touring around Meyrin and finishing at the stadium (official name but by no means a “stadium”). My legs held up their part of the bargain but I had a stitch for the most part of the race so again not ideal conditions. Must have been the wraps I had for lunch just before the race.. normally I don’t eat before a midday run. I finished in 51m13s and could not have been happier to have finished!

The Track

Waving to the Cameraman

Note to self : It pays to have a good sleep and proper practiced nutrition before a race 🙂

Coming up next.. The final run for 2013 and Christmas in Australia

Lausanne Marathon 2013 : 10KM Race + NEW PB!

Lausanne 10KM Run | Sunday 27 October 2013

OK so I didn’t actually do the full marathon, I’m not that silly, not like my husband (sorry babe!), but I did run in the 10KM race. This was my first 10KM race and to be honest I didn’t really know how I would go. I have been pretty lazy when it comes to running since the marathon and for weeks my husband had been saying “just take it easy, you don’t want another injury…”. With that in mind my registration said 55 minutes for my goal time. But I knew I could do better than that and decided to just “go for it” on the day.

Those of you living on the European continent will know that Sunday’s weather was crap. The forecast was crap and sure enough the actual day was crap. It pretty much rained (steadily) until around 11am. I seriously considered just not running. I mean come on, would you? The warm up area and bag drop was in a park, which was well and truly flooded and my socks and shoes were soaked through after 5 minutes. Goodbye white shoes 😦 Poor marathon runners started off at 10:10am and were followed by rain for at least the first 10KM (as told by my husband). Our start time was 10:45am. I held onto my umbrella until the last possible moment and fortunately for me and my fellow 10KM runners the rain eased and completely stopped by the time we started off! HA!

So you know how all the advice in the world tells you not to go out too hard or too fast in a race? Well I’ve been pretty good at sticking to that up until Sunday. Yep, I went out hard and didn’t stop. I figured I’d just see how it went. I could always slow down towards the end if I was really buggered.

It was a pretty uninteresting course to be honest. It was straight up the lake towards Vevey and back again. We started in amongst buildings and houses and just when we were getting to the vineyards and lake views we were turned around for the return. There were quite a few hills too which slowed quite a few people, but not me! Ha ha!! I actually felt really good going up the hills and tried to power up downhill as much as possible. But the one thing powering me all the way was my dire need for a bathroom. I went just before the race but I obviously didn’t get everything out *sigh*. The last half of the race was a serious “I need to finish and FAST” situation. I wasn’t concentrating on my time, my speed or the hills and perhaps this is why those hills didn’t phase me.

I crossed the line in 47:55, my fastest 10KM run ever but certainly not my most enjoyable. I picked up water, a banana, a medal and a cap en route to the nearest porta-loo.

I had a ham and cheese crepe while waiting to see my hubby finish his second marathon in 4 weeks!! He’s an absolute star and even though he didn’t yet crack the 3h15m he’s still a speedy champion in my books.

I was unfortunately not snapped by any of the paparazzi but here’s a few other pics from the day

I’m pretty excited about the next 10KM run we have on the 30th November but I won’t be back running in any of the Lausanne Marathon events any time soon.