Göteborgsvarvet was my 8th half marathon. I finished (alongside a record 45014 other runners) and I loved it - here are the 5 reasons why:
1) The course. Gothenburg has character, it has hills and bridges and water and cobbled streets and tree lined avenues and parks and everything you could possibly want to run in, through or around. Running up to the centre of a suspension bridge is hard, but it's also amazing - especially when you can see the people who have already come off of the bridge far below. Running through Slottskogen and under the Eriksberg crane and through the centre of town was also really good fun.
2) The crowd. Everywhere along the course there were crowds of people and bands and musicians - and even people with hosepipes and sprays cooling people hosing people down. 21.1km of great atmosphere!
3) The start and general organisation. The start was flawless. Wave after wave of people were started off in groups just a few minutes apart exactly on time. First start groups formed up behind marshalls holding the relevant banner (in my case 'Group 21: start time 1532.) Our group was then moved forward to the start line. A 3 minute high powered warm up, led by 3 dancers in front of the big screen and then we heard the starting gun and were off - exactly on time.
4) The medal and goodie bag. I really felt like I earned my medal for this race and I wasn't let down! The reward was a 2 sided, heavy, gold coloured, rectangle medal with the event logo and date on one side and a picture and details on the other. This was all presented on a wide green material necklace and was put around my neck before someone collected my chip and handed me a Kex chocolate bar, a banana and a cup of water.
5) The weather. It was surreal on Saturday! Very warm (26C+), strong winds in places and then occasional bursts of biblical type rain... It all added to the general craziness of the afternoon (though I'm also quite pleased that we didn't have the tropical rainstorm on my part of the course!) Compare the two films below:
Great job Gothenburg, I'll be back next year - and I'm planning to go quicker...!
1) The course. Gothenburg has character, it has hills and bridges and water and cobbled streets and tree lined avenues and parks and everything you could possibly want to run in, through or around. Running up to the centre of a suspension bridge is hard, but it's also amazing - especially when you can see the people who have already come off of the bridge far below. Running through Slottskogen and under the Eriksberg crane and through the centre of town was also really good fun.
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| Goteborgsvarvet 1/2 marathon course map |
2) The crowd. Everywhere along the course there were crowds of people and bands and musicians - and even people with hosepipes and sprays cooling people hosing people down. 21.1km of great atmosphere!
3) The start and general organisation. The start was flawless. Wave after wave of people were started off in groups just a few minutes apart exactly on time. First start groups formed up behind marshalls holding the relevant banner (in my case 'Group 21: start time 1532.) Our group was then moved forward to the start line. A 3 minute high powered warm up, led by 3 dancers in front of the big screen and then we heard the starting gun and were off - exactly on time.
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| goteborgsvarvet medal |
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| goteborgsvarvet medal |
4) The medal and goodie bag. I really felt like I earned my medal for this race and I wasn't let down! The reward was a 2 sided, heavy, gold coloured, rectangle medal with the event logo and date on one side and a picture and details on the other. This was all presented on a wide green material necklace and was put around my neck before someone collected my chip and handed me a Kex chocolate bar, a banana and a cup of water.
5) The weather. It was surreal on Saturday! Very warm (26C+), strong winds in places and then occasional bursts of biblical type rain... It all added to the general craziness of the afternoon (though I'm also quite pleased that we didn't have the tropical rainstorm on my part of the course!) Compare the two films below:
Great job Gothenburg, I'll be back next year - and I'm planning to go quicker...!
Oops, u got the wrong map (u got Stockholm´s) Her is Göteborgsvarvets map: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XfAfpJwTn9U/UZe1iBK8i6I/AAAAAAAAAU4/nmA3V613WcU/s1600/Bild+131.png
ReplyDeleteYes I did - good spot, will amend! Thank you
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