The Eindhoven Marathon celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Apparently it is one of the fastest in the world (as a friend pointed out, that’s not surprising as it’s so flat). Eindhoven also holds a running expo over that weekend, so it’s a big event.
As part of the leadup to this race, I participated in a program called Start To Run, sponsored by my health insurer. The course runs twice a year, all over the country. I quite enjoyed the first session, where I went off with a more advanced group, however I missed the second due to holidays, and when I returned for the third, I found that the other non-beginners had joined the more advanced group permanently, and the beginners had already formed their little cliques. I ended up skipping the last two sessions.
I did enjoy running about with others, however it wasn’t the most convenient time, the aim of the course was too easy for me (I can already run 3km and was training for the 6km), and it’s difficult when you don’t speak fluent Dutch, which was also a problem with aikido. I could understand the instructors, although I usually put myself in a position where I could see them which helped, but if someone randomly says something to me and they’re puffing, I’m not going to get it. On the plus side, I got a running tshirt and a mini-subscription to (Dutch) Runner’s World.
Oh, and although I finished the City Run in a much better time than I expected, I am not automatically booking it in for next year: too many people, mostly little kids, and it was all rather chaotic. Nowhere near as much fun as the Ladiesrun in Rotterdam. On the other hand, a half marathon seems like far too much effort. I think I’ll just aim for a 10km for the time being.
