Run in Lyon

Run in Lyon

Run in Lyon

( 3 reviews )
100% of reviewers recommend this race
  • Lyon,
    France
  • October
  • 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, 26.2 miles/Marathon
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Lily Fang

Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
1 6
2018
"Fast & flat course, well-run event"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Lily Fang's thoughts:

I ran the Lyon Half Marathon (Semi-marathon de Lyon) in October 2018 while I was living in Dijon. For the first time in 3 years, I ran under 1:55 and almost within 1 minute of my PR (1:45:07 vs. 1:44:03).

Here's what I thought:

Expo - this was outdoors at the Place Bellecour. Lines got horrendously long if you waited until the evening before the race, but were okay if you came mid-day. To save time, upload your medical certificate (physical clearing you to race) online beforehand. This certificate is required for all races in France. There wasn't a ton of free stuff at the expo (the *real* reason I'm there lol), but it was cool that it was outside and in the heart of the city.

Course - fast and flat. I didn't have a gps watch at the time, so I don't know what the elevation gain was, but I don't really remember many inclines, maybe just a couple little ones, tops. The course takes you out along the Saône River, which is mostly residential except at the beginning and end. The course goes back along the same river, but on a different side. It's not the *prettiest* course ever, nor the most spectator-lined (especially in the middle bits), but it's not bad either, and there are lots of spectators when you're in the city. My major issue was that there were inconsistent kilometer signs--I saw the first 5, then they were missing for until 10km, then missing again until 16km. I had to rely on beeping gps watches to get a sense for where I was. There was also a longer tunnel section (maybe 1km) towards the end, which was very stuffy since it was rainy that day.

Fuel - aid stations were every 5km or so, and didn't have energy drinks or gu, as is typical in France. At one station around the 10km mark, there was Stimium gel, which is kind of like a Honey Stinger, but even runnier. There was typically water in cups, and sometimes dried and fresh fruits.

Swag - the shirt was a v-neck tech tee for women, which was well-fitted and decent quality. The medal was pretty nice too.

Overall, a very well-run event, other than the lacking kilometer signs. There were almost 40,000 participants across the 3 events (3000 marathon, 11,000 half, and 16,000 10k), which made for great energy. Definitely an event I would consider doing again if I were in the area!

For more race details, check out my blog post: https://www.imperfectidealist.com/2018/11/race-review-lyon-half-marathon-2018.html

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