Race Report: Geneve Half Marathon

The Geneva Half Marathon was, in a phrase, a race of contradictions.

The good parts...

• PR! To be honest, despite announcing my goal to break two hours, at the start of the race, I had no idea whether I actually would. I spent the day before the race eating ice cream and going for a twenty mile bike ride-- not exactly a recipe for fresh legs and happy stomach. Nevertheless, when the gun went off, my legs felt light and strong. The weather was perfect, the crowds were lively, and I couldn't stop smiling. When I crossed the finish line and double-checked my time, I was elated. Although I always knew that I physically could break two hours if I pushed myself and trained correctly, actually doing it and achieving my goal was an awesome, awesome feeling. Total runner's high :)  (Ben also PR'd with the awesome time of 1:48! Time-wise, it was a fantastic race!)
  

• Gravity-driven first half. Like always, I started this half consistently reminding myself not to start out too fast-- however, in this case, it was kind of hard not to! Although there were some gently rolling hills, there was also a lot of downhill. While downhills can certainly be hard on your knees, I personally love them-- I'm all about letting gravity do some of the work for me!
  
  
• Gorgeous, varied, interesting course. Vineyards. Fields of poppies. Small villages. Downtown Geneva. Lac Leman. Whoever chose the course did a fantastic job keeping things interesting and showcasing Geneva's unique culture.
  
  
• Ponchos! About two minutes after I crossed the finished line, the skies opened up and it started to rain. Hard. It took me all of ten seconds to go from feeling hot and sweaty to drenched and shivering-- not exactly a great post-race feeling! Fortunately, the race organizers were totally on top of their game and started quickly passing out ponchos-- a brilliant bit of planning on their part.
  
  
• My name was on my number. This might actually be my favorite part of the race. Throughout the entire course, spectators kept calling out "Allez Vanessa!", "Bravo Vanessa!", and "Vanessa! C'est bon!" Every time I heard a spectator cheering my name, my face erupted into a smile and I kicked up my game. Amazing.  Why don't all races do this?!
  
  

...and the not-so-good parts.

• No shirt, no medal. I'll be honest: I run races because I love running. I love the new courses, the excitement, the camaraderie, the cheering fans. However: I also really like race expos, snazzy race t-shirts, and feeling like a medal-clad Olympian while cooling off post-race. While the volunteers at the race expo were friendly and helpful, the expo itself was small and only had a couple of booths. The race packet contained simply a chip, number, and a couple of flyers, and finish-line crossers were greeted with "Good Jobs!" rather than medals. While race goodies are far from being the most important part of a race, given the number of runners, the hefty registration fee, and the overall race hype, I was expecting to walk away with a snazzy souvenir.
  
  
• Low on water. Unlike a lot of runners, I'm not really a big water drinker. I usually drink a couple of glasses the morning of a race, a glass right before, and a couple of glasses during (maybe more, if it's really hot out.) But this race? It didn't even provide that! While there was water at the starting line, you had to pay 2 CHF for it--what runner brings spare change along for a race? The water along the course wasn't much better, either-- there were only three water stops, the cups were super small, and the lines to get water were fairly long. By the time I crossed the finish line, I was definitely dehydrated and wanted nothing more than to guzzle an enormous bottle of water.
  
  
• A little crowded. After the insanity that was the Lisbon Half Marathon (I was running through a parade. Seriously.), I almost feel like this doesn't really warrant a complaint. But....the race was pretty crowded. There were always lines for water stops and some of the narrow lanes and bridges had some pretty bad bottlenecks. For the most part, I don't think the crowds slowed my pace down that much, but it was kind of annoying.
  
  
• Horribly unorganized finish. This is probably my biggest complaint of the race. At the race's finish, there were several tents set up with water bottles, fruit, and cake (and later, ponchos.) However-- before you could get to the water and food tents, you had to pass through an enormous bottleneck. Ben, my dad and I waited a good fifteen minutes to get out of the bottleneck-- all the while feeling tired, thirsty, and getting steadily wetter as the rain started to pick up. Although I loved the top-of-the-world feeling that came with crossing the finish line, it was a bit dampened by the poor organization and planning. 

But enough with words! Pictures!

ice cream cones may not be the healthiest race eve snack, but they were
definitely delicious!

leaving st-sulpice the morning of the race. thanks to a 10:30 am start, we
didn't have to get up before the sun!

me + b, waiting for the train. we weren't sure whether or not we'd be running
in the rain, so we both brought along our snazzy jackets from the 2008
florence marathon. 

mom took a few photos while waiting for us to finish-- this is the road
along the last 100 meters of the course.

eau de geneve! 

the finish line! always a wonderful sight :)

about 50 meters from the finish line (and a new PR!)

post-race photo shoot: check out those ponchos!

me and daddy

the runners! ben, me, dad. 

post-race lunch- exhausted and hungry!