Marathon du Médoc, Bordeaux, France

Martians. Finishers.

When I heard about Marathon du Médoc, I could not wait to sign up. A 26.2-mile scenic course that winds through Bordeaux’s vineyards and past world-famous chateaux sounded spectacular. The wine and extravagant food (cheese, oysters, ice cream) along the course sounded…well, not like things I usually consume while running, but an interesting twist to the event.

Pre-marathon show

The field is limited to 8,500 runners, so registration fills up pretty quickly. I registered on the first day (registration opens in early February) and convinced Angelo to run as well. He was less enthusiastic, but over the summer embraced a very tough training program and ended up having a good race.

This was some costume!

Glad I’m not pushing this!

The course passes more than 50 châteaux. You don’t get a chance to take them all in, but it makes for nice scenery.

Any costumes went

Did I mention everyone runs in costume? There’s a different theme each year. This year’s theme was science fiction, but many people showed up in any old costume.

Angelo at a wine stop

I ended up stopping at only two wine tables, but I grabbed plenty of bananas and oranges along the way. There was an overabundance of food at every station: bread, fruit, chocolate, potato chips and toward the end cheese, oysters, beef and ice cream.

Check out the wine holder

We ran through some tiny villages, where the townspeople did a great job of cheering us on.

An extravagant prop

I was disappointed to not get more photos, but I didn’t want to stop running and take my phone out of my pocket. Not only would that eat into my time, but it’s near-impossible for me to start running after a stop, especially in the later miles!