This weekend I went to discover the cute city of Colmar for its half-marathon. Colmar is only 2h30 from Paris by train so very easy to access for a weekend.

I took the train on Friday evening to enjoy a bit of Colmar on Saturday. With the bad cold that I had I especially rested to be at my best during the race. I still took a few hours late in the morning to walk under a bright sun. I did well it rained the all afternoon!

• The city of Colmar

Colmar is an Alsatian town with a city center really typical of the region. I love this style of architecture, it’s really nice to walk there

An overview of the city center :

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There is also a cathedral to visit :

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I then went for a walk in the famous district of Little Venice :

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At noon I went to the restaurant “les tanneurs”, I recommend it 😊. Typical outdoor / indoor decoration and above all save some room for dessert!!

• The race

On Saturday morning I went to pick up my bib. Here is the racepack provided (for the marathon there were muff offered in addition) :

Then Sunday was finally the start of the race, 5 months after my last half at Madrid! For me it was a test before the marathon of Lyon. At the time of preparing me I realized that like a big dope I had forgotten my sport bra… Never mind I put a “classic” bra it will always be better than nothing 😊. With my cold I don’t forget my handkerchiefs. I would have finally used them only 3 times on the run.

Start and supplies

The start is at 9am, the start of the race in Colmar goes well apart from the cobbled street that make me stumble. I don’t like it at all! Then you leave the city to find yourself in the middle of the fields (and some nice smells ^ ^). So that the reason why the pavement was not tarred everywhere and “clear” but it was less annoying than cobblestones. Supplies were quite good (fruit, dried fruit, cakes, water, sweet drink). I take an energy gel at 10 and 15km (but the last one was too close to the first one). The beginning of the course was common with the marathoners who left at 9:30. The first man doubled to me at km 7.5 while the first woman at km 10.3.

The course

The course enabled to pass in the pretty town of Eguisheim. I didn’t take photos while I ran but I advise you to take a ride! At this time of the course I think the marathoners were not really at their best. The small cobbled streets made the passing difficult! The second part of the route also crossed fields and a small forest (very nice). Then we return to Colmar and our destinies of marathoners and half-marathoners separate!

Performance analysis

Aside from the supplies stops I haven’t walked or paused at all. A first for me on this distance! I’m very happy with my race and I’m finally 3’27 “better than in Paris.I really recommend this race, not many hills (and very short) and at this time the temperatures are rather ideal, not too hot, not too cold, if you’re lucky like me, you can even escape the rain !

PS: Special mention to the marathoners who encouraged / advised me when they passing me, it is a beautiful sportsmanship as I like!

PS2 : And otherwise the Airbnb all rotten in council estate, do we talk about it? 😂