Anncey Half Marathon Posted by Claire Click here to return to race reports

The Lake Annecy marathon and half, April 2010 Why you should do this race next year! Great chance for a PB - flat Glorious scenery around the crystal clear emerald lake with views of snowy Alpine mountains Brilliant organisation incl water stations every 3km, huge free picnic after, great marshalling and info, medal, mugs, tee shirts, goody bag Massive support - thousands of spectators cheering on up till the last runner spend a few days in the area: visit Mont Blanc, you can ski, paraglide, take boat trips, hike, visit Geneva/Lake Geneva. Annecy itself is on the lake, a beautiful medieval town, Volcanoes permitting, v cheap flights to geneva with easyjet (£70) - can share car hire when you/we get there

Race report.I signed up for the Annecy half marathon back in the pre-volcanic geological time, having visited this pretty French lakeside Alpine town once before. We - me, Jim and Tina - extended our stay to have a bit of a holiday but owing to the cancelled flights ended up spending a day in Bristol savouring the gallic delights of Cafe Rouge and Raymond Blanc's Brasserie. Finally the night before the race Jim and I decided to drive down to Dover and take a ferry to Calais; thence to drive to Annecy overnight hoping to make it in time for the race: 16 hours and 700 miles later we did just that; pulling up outside the hotel at 0615 with time for a doze and shower before the off.

And a fantastic race it was too: the full marathon and half both follow the shoreline with views over the turquoise waters to the snow-drenched mountains beyond; a flat course there`s plenty of scope for a PB (was won by a Kenyan in 1 hr mins) unless like me you had an injury shortening your stride...there were huge crowds of supporters; incredibly enthusiastic and vociferous, calling out to everyone by name - names were on our bibs - though the "Bravo Claire" and "Allez Claire"s were shouted with more sympathy than conviction I fear. There were water stations every " kms, a good thing given the searing heat - at least 27 degrees (apologies to our MDS veterans).

All along the way the 7000 runners were cheered on by the crowds right up till the last person came in. There was a great post race atmosphere with a huge picnic laid on, massages,etc etc. It was quite hot (MDF vets Jo and Annie would scoff) -temps reached the mid 20s in the half marathon afternoon (marathon was in the cooler morning) We stayed in a great little hotel and explore fthe area for a few days afterwards - makes for a fanstastic short holiday. See you next year?