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| - Decent first international race experience.
I will keep this brief and not write a full report. I did the half marathon; I actually wanted to do the full marathon but the NYC summer was far too brutal for training. This was my first race outside of NYC and the United States, for that matter. So, I based this experience on my NYC race experiences.
1. It was pretty easy breezy getting to the start and it did not feel like a police state with a bunch of security points. I left my airbnb near the finish line at 7:15 and arrived to the start by 8:15. I remember for the NYC marathon that I had to leave my place at 5:30 am to get to the start village by 8 for a 9-10am start - a lot of time in the cold.
2. I think that the corralling could have been a little more organized but I do think this is more of a problem for the Rock n Roll series. You can pretty much put your estimated finishing time, so I think that a lot of people upscaled their running capabilities. There were quite a few people walking 1-3 miles into the race and they were in lower corrals than I. C'mon, you are running a marathon and you are ALREADY walking?!!!
2. For the half, you do not see a lot of the city, because most of the race is on Iles Sainte-Helene and Notre Dame. Of course, the full marathon encompasses more of Montreal. Also, most of the course it pretty quiet, especially on Ile Notre Dame. I wonder if the organizers could reroute the run so that the half-marathoners could enter Montreal after Ile Sainte-Helene rather than after Ile Notre Dame. I will say that it was really cool running through the Village and Old Montreal.
3. As anyone who prepares for a race, you will know where the water stations are. I kind of wish that they were a mile apart, rather than two miles apart.
4. The bands and groups along the course were pretty awesome. I was kind of surprised that they mostly performed covers of artists from the States. I was kind of expecting to hear more "homegrown" music from Montreal. Nevertheless, I am glad that they were out there and brought the Rock n Roll them to the race.
5. The post-race experience was kind of a struggle; it took about for me to get my baggage. I think that if I run next year that I will not check a bag. I know that the marathon was still going on when the 5Kers, 10Kers, and half-marathoners were done but it would have been nice to have a few bands playing on the main stage. The post-race goody bags were pretty nice and full of great recovery treats.
6. The race expo was nice and I am so glad that the organizers had blank confirmations forms because I forgot to print mine before leaving the States.
I do not if these suggestions are feasible, but I will throw them out there.
1. Start the post race performances a little earlier. I wanted to stay longer (and drink more beer) but there was nothing to do, except for visiting vendors.
2. Have more than one beer station in the park, because it took a bit of time to redeem the beer coupons.
3. Reroute the half-marathon to include more of Ile de Montreal.
4. Being able to use portable devices to pick up your race materials would be great. Who even own printers anymore? ;)
Overall, I had a positive race experience and I really want to do the full-marathon next year. Hopefully, the next summer will not be brutal for training
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