“On your mark. Get set. GOOOO!!!” Are you ready to start traveling to those spring races you’ve spent the winter training for? I know I am. Some of the big spring races include World Marathon Major cities London and Boston, as well as favorites Paris and Rome. If running a marathon in a big city with lots of participants isn’t on your travel itinerary, no worries. There are plenty of smaller races that offer shorter distances to choose from as well.
One of my favorite spring races is the Semi-Marathon International de Nice. Though it is France’s second-biggest running event, there are only 8,000 participants, which is nothing compared to France’s biggest running event, the Paris Marathon, which has over 40,000.
The Events
There are plenty of events to choose from, including a 10km run, la Nicoise, a 5km or 2.5km charity run for Breast Cancer research, and a free race for 10 to 16-year-olds, the 2.5 km P’tits Champions run.
Pre-Race Activities
The day before the race there’s a pre-race stretching session with some of the elite runners followed by breakfast at the Running Expo Mizuno. I almost enjoyed the expo – which is set up really in Place Masséna – as much as the actual race. With the Promenade des Anglais as your background, why wouldn’t you be outdoors?
The warm-up session before the race, with loud music, pom-pom girls, clowns, and other circus-like characters is a fun way to get you pumped up for the event. I had to be careful not to overdo it. With all that jumping and dancing around before the race, it would have been easy to move from warming up to burning out.
The Course
What could be better than running along the Mediterranean Sea on a spring day? I’d argue this was definitely one of the prettiest races I’ve run, with the course running beside the sea for 16km, along the palm-tree lined Promenade
des Anglais and the attractive, café-lined harbor, Nice le Port.
des Anglais and the attractive, café-lined harbor, Nice le Port.
There was never a dull moment in the race. During the 2 or 3 km that the course went through more residential areas, there was lots of entertainment, such as African Brazilian drummers and performers on stilts. Maybe the race directors thought this would distract and keep us from noticing that The Mediterranean Sea was no longer in view. While the drummers were very good, I must admit, I noticed.
We eventually made our way back to the Promenade des Anglais, finishing in the same place we started. After collecting my finisher’s medal, I made my way back to the harbor and celebrated the end of my run.
*This article originally appeared on FlyingBlue Running
