Race Date: Saturday 7th December 2024
Race report by Dave Beech
Geneva, Switerland wasn’t the most obvious place for me to attempt a first overseas race since the Brussels 20km and the Amsterdam half marathon in the late 1980s but when a weekend visit to stay just outside of Geneva with our Swiss friends coincided with their local race it seemed rude not to enter. “Our local race” turned out to be a weekend of races involving over 47,000 competitors forming a large city event with a three day Expo, a large “athlete’s village”, stalls, bars, food outlets, celebrities starting the races and large screens dotted around the tight course for spectators to watch the races unfold. The Saturday consisted of 10 races of varying distances spread across an 8 hour period. Each race was either 1, 2 or 3 laps. I entered one of the 7.3km races (3 laps). The Sunday consisted of races for the elite national and international runners.
I visited the Expo on the day before to collect my number and soak up some of the pre-race atmosphere and was looking forward to an interesting and absorbing race day. There was just one fly in the ointment. In contrast to the gorgeous sunny winter weather on the Friday, the weather on Saturday was atrocious. High winds, bone numbingly cold temperatures and torrential rain. Trying to keep warm and dry prior to the race was a challenge. I wore six layers, including a warm waterproof coat, and a pair of waterproof trousers for the duration of my warm up! Miraculously the rain eased off about 15 minutes before the start and that was the cue to strip off, put on the black bin liner and walk to the start. I was in zone A of my race so was able to get near to the start line and get a good, clear start.
Dave still well togged up but with enough spare energy to wave at the camera.
The course twisted its way round the steep, narrow and (mostly) cobbled streets of old Geneva passing some beautiful historic buildings including the 12th century Cathedral. Given the number of competitors (4,000 in my part of proceedings), the relatively short race distance, the twisty, narrow nature of the course and the awful weather, running a fast time was never an option. My time of 37:18 equated to a 25 minute parkrun which would be slow for me. Each finisher received water, an apple, a top quality sports rucksack with a nice logo on the outside and a very welcome bowl of hot soup!
The overall organisation of the event was very impressive. Incredibly given the numbers involved during the main day there were no queues for portaloos and enough lockers (within large marquees) for everyone to store clothes and bags before the race. Afterwards there were plenty of free massages and excellent shower facilities for those that made the effort to seek out the 16th century College Calvin, about 1 mile from the start/finish area. A few days after the race each runner was sent a free individualised two minute video of their race. I feature in each clip of my video. Typical Swiss attention to detail.
Clip from the video with shorts definitely in the minority.
In the addition to the race, we spent the weekend exploring Geneva and the surrounding countryside including a visit to a Christmas market in the medieval Chateau de Coppet. The hospitality afforded us by our Swiss friends was very warm indeed making it a most enjoyable experience.
First woman was Senior Darleen Pfister (Uni Geneve) 27.37 whilst the first man was M40 Victor Oliverira (Collonge-Bellerive) 23.32. There were 12,000 finishers in this part of the overall event including 311 M60’s.
Course De L’Escalade, Geneva (7.323 km)
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time |
| 4883 (76) | Dave Beech | M60 | 37.18 |