Zürich marathon

As a new citizen of Zürich I was very happy when I saw that there was a marathon scheduled just three weeks after I settled down. Running marathons that starts in front of your doorstep is such a luxury so I wasn’t doubting if I should join in or not. Today the race took place but the whole weekend the city has been in marathon spirit. It is not the largest race but neither a small one. When I moved here I joined Adidas run club (AR) and they hosted an event weekend so the last couple of days have included a lot of fun with new training peers.

Shakeout run and mingle

AR hosted a shakeout run and pre race mingle last evening including selling Adidas shoes and clothes for great prices, a short run, food and drinks, t-shirt giveaway and mingle. All set for the race I took the tram home to watch some Netflix before a good nights sleep.

Marathon

Race day and I woke up just after 6 to have breakfast and head to the start. It had been raining during the night so it was fresh air outside when I left home just after 7. It was still coming down some small drops but I like running in that kind of weather so I didn’t mind. And what can you do about it? A quick toilet stop, hand in my clothes and then it became time to start.

The first 10K was a wake up phase. I don’t know what I did but it didn’t felt good and when I watched my split times after I can clearly see that I woke up the first part with kilometers that took over 6 minutes and then some in 4:35 pace. The legs felt fine but my mindset was not on. Thought this could be a long day. It stopped rain and got warmer. People came out to cheer and I started to like the course. We now entered the “Gold coast” and had the Zurich lake at one side and huge villas at the other. It was flat and easy and I knew it was a turning point at 20ish kilometers so I would get to enjoy the nice views once more.

More people came out to cheer the whole time and it was great with a turning point so we could see the elite and fellow runners. I like that kind of races. There were many energy and drink stations so it was not needed to stop at all. At a few of them I had some water, walked a bit and stretched. With the routine in marathon running that suits me to do some short breaks after 30ish kilometers so the muscles don’t get sore.

All of a sudden we passed 32K and the sun started to come out. I had a small dip here but took an energy candy and was back to steady pace. After that I passed 37K at 3:19:XX and knew I would make sub 4. That is always a milestone to me to finish sub 4. I wasn’t really struggling at any part of the second half. Mostly it was an enjoyable run.

And I reached my milestone and finished at 3:55:19. Happy with that but now I will take a marathon running break during the summer and do shorter distances.

After run and cheering zone

When the race was over AR had invited to food and cheering for the half marathon and 10K runners. We got some yummy poke bowls at a place Kaisin which I will definitely visit again. It was very hot and I didn’t wanted to leave my seat. Eventually I had to though.

Went up and watched the other races for an hour and then went for a swim in the lake.

And at the lake is actually where I am right now when writing this race report. I can warmly recommend this race if you are looking for a well organized and easy marathon. It wasn’t a warm swim or long but refreshing for the body. But need to head home soon and pack because tomorrow I am off for my first business trip with Swiss. Any takers where I will go?

/ Pernilla that finished Zurich marathon