My sport interests:

On this page I will provide some information about my sport interests.  For instance, you may find some useful links to Marathon races and / or some of my experiences.

Running / Marathon:

  1. Marathon du Medoc:  This was my first marathon (September 7th, 2002).  For everyone who loves running, fun and good French wine, I can only recommend to tempt this 'one-in-a-life-time' experience.  You run 42.195 km through the best wine region of France (let's say the world ;-).  You pass nice 'chateaux'.  You can taste great wine during the course.  There are stops with oysters, entrecote, ...  A lot of music (imagine: blue sky, more than 30 degree Celsius = 90 degree Fahrenheit, classic music and you are running through the gardens of one of the most beautiful castles of the world with a view on that castle) and (literally) tons of spectators all along the road.  About 75% of the participants 8700 participants were running disguised = it is more looking like a carnival procession.  I finished in 4h13 with about 8 nice wine tasting stops on the way - quite tired but very happy and full of sensations.  The atmosphere was fantastic !!!
  2. 20 km de Paris:  This is a 'classic' 20 km race in Paris (October 13th, 2002).  They had about 12,000 participants.  Some music on the road and quite some spectators.  But, no real comparison to the marathon du 'Medoc' ;-)  Bad news was:  It was relatively cold (about 10 degree Celsius = 50 degree Fahrenheit) and raining most of the time.  Good news is: The course was quite flat and thus quick.  Without drinking wine this time and a friend (merci, Celine) pushing me a lot, I managed to finish in 1h38 (= I was quite happy).
  3. Half-Marathon of Boulogne-Billancourt:  A smaller one = 2233 participants (November 17th, 2002).  It is getting better (under 1h42) and for the first time weather was perfect for running (about 14 degree Celsius = 57 degree Fahrenheit and NO rain :-).  The maybe most amazing thing is that you can see the 'Elite' runners coming in front and passing on the other side of the road twice (their speed is amazing = still a long, long way to go).
  4. Half-Marathon of Paris:  (March 9th, 2003) With about 15,000 participants this is the biggest half-marathon in France.  Weather was just gorgeous (blue sky, basically no wind, about 20 degree Celsius = about 70 degree Fahrenheit).  Maybe, I shouldn't have 'partied' that much before the race, but 1h40 was not too bad ;-)
  5. Marathon of Paris:  You love Paris?  You love running?  Maybe, you should consider this one.  You will discover Paris starting from the 'Champs', traversing Paris, making a tour in the 'Bois de Vincennes', taking the 'quais' to cross Paris again, a little 'ballade' in the 'Bois de Boulogne' and quickly back direction 'en gros Arc de Triomphe'.  (April 6th, 2003) There have been about 33,000 participants and tons of spectators 'enjoying' this one with me.  Let's say 'the weather was not really on our side' (about 10 degree Celsius = 50 degree Fahrenheit and cloudy with a bit 'too much' wind).  Anyway, finishing (in good shape and with a real sprint) in 3h28min gave again extraordinary sensations and was a great compensation for some hard trainings.  But, for sure, this one has nothing to do with the one in Medoc ;-)

Bernd Grahlmann (last updated April 7th, 2003)

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