Marathon du Médoc: Je Suis Arrivé!
On Saturday 10, 2022, I had the opportunity to make one of my bucket list dreams come true…running the Marathon du Médoc in Bordeaux!
If you are not familiar with the marathon, check out my pre-marathon write-up about the experience here.
I love travel, fitness and wine, and ever since I heard of the wild concept of running a full 26.2 mile (42 km) marathon while drinking wine, I have been determined to make it happen.
Here is a visual recap of one of the most exhilarating experiences of my travels.
What was your training like?
A lot of people asked me if I practiced running while drinking to prepare for the race, and I did not! However, I did use the marathon as an excuse to eat all the delicious food I wanted this summer.
I have had issues with my knees for over ten years now, so I try not to run too much or too often to avoid aggravating them. However, I do work out every day with HIIT, yoga, pilates or barre classes, and for the three months leading up to the marathon, I supplemented these workouts with a 4-6 mile run once or twice a week on the weekends.
This was my third marathon, and I personally do not believe (for myself) in running long distances before the marathon because I get bored of running, and I prefer just to be surprised during the race by how much time it takes to run 26.2 miles (42 km).
It was probably around mile eight (13 km) of the race that I started thinking, “Wow, I have four more hours of this left…”
Packing for Bordeaux
My first two marathons were in Washington, D.C. while I was living there, and this was my first time traveling for a marathon. I was going to Bordeaux by myself to run the marathon alone, and with all of the flights getting cancelled or delayed this summer, I was very nervous about travel issues. Luckily, I arrived in Paris and then Bordeaux by train without any issues!
My essential packing list for the marathon:
Running shoes
MacDavid knee bands
Running arm band
Passport
Sunglasses
Notebook to record my memories after the race
Copious amounts of ibuprofen
My costume!
The Race Expo
I arrived in Bordeaux City on Friday afternoon and took one of the shuttles to Pauillac to pick up my race packet. Pauillac is actually quite far from Bordeaux City, and with traffic, it took us almost 1.5 hours to reach the race expo. However, I got to meet a couple of cool girls from the UK on the ride over!
The race expo was one of the first opportunities for the participants to see the level of fanfare and pageantry of the event, and the organizers and local volunteers were brimming with enthusiasm.
The 2022 marathon theme was “Cinema,” and the organizers went all out!
Here is the “sweeper float” that trails behind the last of the runners and “sweeps” them along (metaphorically), encouraging them to run faster to make the 6.5 hour cut-off for finishing the marathon.
The Feastin’ Before the Beastin’
I did not stay long at the expo, though, because I still had to make my way back to Bordeaux City, eat a hearty pre-marathon dinner and get some sleep before the shuttles left Bordeaux City for Pauillac at 6:30 AM the next morning!
I know people typically eat pasta and bread before their marathons, but I was in France and was really craving some steak frites! I ate the entire steak with a couple of glasses of wine!
Ready for Médoc!
I actually did not get very much sleep the night before the race. I was anxious about oversleeping and not making the 6:30 AM shuttle, and I kept waking up every hour during the night due to nerves.
What do you think of my costume?
Pageantry in Pauillac
The sky was still dark when we left Bordeaux, but by the time we arrived in Pauillac for the beginning of the race, it was a beautiful, sunny day! We could not have asked for more beautiful weather, and Pauillac was buzzing with excitement.
The top three most common costumes at the marathon this year:
Squads of Baywatch everywhere
Gladiators galore
Forest Gump from all different points of the movie
Honorable Mentions: Spotted dogs, Top Gun and Charlie Chaplin
I do not know how this guy ran 26.2 miles in his costume, but so much respect for Mr. Scream right here!
My favorite costumes! This Smurf couple was adorable!
I met Finnish Maverick while standing in line for the bathrooms before the race. Doesn’t he actually look very similar to Tom Cruise in Top Gun?
Lights, Camera, Action!
One of my favorite parts of the marathon was how much the organizers invested into hyping up the crowd before and during the race. They know how to throw a party!
Right before the start of the race, they had aerial artists perform a routine in the sky above the starting line to famous movie tunes, and you could feel the excitement among the crowd. Movie magic!
And we’re off! Allez!
Breakfast on the Run
I did not eat anything before the race because the marathon offers a variety of snacks alongside the wine stations, and I figured that I would just eat breakfast along the way.
They had the most perfectly airy croissants!
Wine for Breakfast
One of the questions I often get about the marathon is how much wine there is at the marathon. It seemed to me like there was a wine stop at almost every mile, and I stopped at all of the wine stations. Towards the end of the race, I saw runners skipping the wine stations, but that’s what I came for…the wine!
A lot of people have also been asking me, “Were you drunk during the race?” and the answer is no! The wine samples were actually just enough for a taste, and over five hours while running, it really was not enough (for me) to get drunk.
This was also the most hydrated I had ever been during a marathon because I took special care to drink a lot of water.
Before the race, I thought I was going to take more time at the wine stations, stand around with my glass of wine and enjoy the views, but once I started realizing that 26.2 miles is quite long, I realized that I needed to hurry up and get along with it - down the hatch until the next stop!
Bordeaux is Mercifully Flat
Many famous wine regions are known for their hills or slopes, and I had read in my wine books that Bordeaux is not particularly known for being steep, but then I realized that this is a complete understatement.
The race through the Médoc was the flattest, easiest route I have ever run, and with the exception of three or four short upward slopes, I felt like I was running on flat land or downhill the entire time. If you are not much of a runner but you have always wanted to run a marathon, this is the one to do!
Iconic!
Running by the historic châteaux was such a dream! You’ve seen the pictures of the buildings on the wine labels, but to see them in real life among the vineyards is unreal.
Grapes on the Vine!
The marathon is conveniently scheduled right before the harvest in the Médoc, so the grapes are still hanging on the vines. I sampled a couple of grapes during my run, and I am happy to report that the 2022 vintage is looking like a great one!
As an aside, there are a few portable toilets on the route, but it seemed like most people just did their business in the vineyards. Château Latour in particular seemed to be a favorite point of relief for many of the runners. Having studied winemaking processes with the WSET programs, I can tell you that there is no “wash grapes” step in the winemaking flow chart. But maybe that’s why the Latour wines are so good!
The Terroir of the Médoc
The marathon route is a mix of paved roads and dirt roads through the vineyards. The best vineyards in the Médoc tend to be located on soils with a high proportion of gravel to clay. After stubbing my toe on a number of pebbles while plodding through the dirt roads, I can confirm that there is indeed a high proportion of gravel in the Médoc.
The name of Second Growth, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, refers to “beautiful pebbles” in French for their Gunzian gravel from quartz, and I recall their vineyards as being especially pebbly - one of the reasons why their wines are so good!
Applause for the runners who committed to carrying their props during the entire race. I saw runners hanging on to their Harry Potter wands, lifeboats, swords and spears through the route.
More shenanigans!
One of the things I loved about the marathon is the silliness. The marathon is called “the Longest Marathon in the World” for a reason. People don’t take themselves so seriously! It’s all fun!
…But you still need to run to finish the race.
It was his cross to bear.
And the Award for the Most Beautiful Château goes to…Cos d’Estournel!
This was one of the few upward hills on the route, but up ahead was one of the most beautiful châteaux that we saw along the route, Second Growth Cos d’Estournel in Saint-Estèphe! Their property really does look like a castle.
Beer Time!
It was at around mile 20 (32 km) that I began to feel tired and could sense that my running form was starting to break down. It was getting quite warm in the afternoon and we were running long distances without any shade since we were going through the vineyards.
Château La Haye (Cru Bourgeois) in Saint-Estèphe had the most welcome reception for us with balloons tied to the vines and volunteers handing out cold beer, popcorn and frites. I wolfed down the fries for their salt content, and the cold beer was so refreshing that I had two cups! Thank you so much for providing us with the fuel to keep going!
My New Friends!
Minion #1 and Olaf were cheering for the runners by the side of the road, and I had to take a picture with my fellow Disney characters!
I was very happy to dress up as Dory from “Finding Nemo,” because so many of the children who came out to support the runners got excited when they saw Dory and gave me high-fives along the way. They kept me going even when I felt like my legs couldn’t take it anymore!
And the award for the best marketing team goes to…Château Phélan Ségur!
Most of the châteaux were giving out plastic cups of wine, and at many stations, you had to ask the volunteers what they were serving, but Cru Bourgeois, Phélan Ségur (Saint-Estèphe), knows how to market themselves! They provided large format bottles to take pictures with and handed out real glasses of wine of their Frank Phélan 2012. The wine was actually very good!
Les Huîtres!
At around mile 23 (37 km) was the infamous oyster station! These cool, briny treats were so good that I stopped to take down three of them with a glass of white wine. I probably would have had a slightly faster time if I didn’t hang around the oyster station so much, but they were so delicious!
L’Entrecôte!
One of the best parts about the marathon is that those who make it through the race are rewarded by the increased level of degustation offerings towards the end. The snacks are generally crackers, biscuits, fruit and chocolate bars until you get to approximately mile 20 (32 km), and then they start giving you the good stuff!
They handed out refreshing ice cream bars after the steak station, but at this point, my brain was so focused on finishing the race that I didn’t stop to take a photo of my ice cream.
Je Suis Arrivé!
There were definitely times that I wasn’t sure if I would be able to finish the race, but I pushed down those doubts and just kept swimming!
Not bad considering that I (a) didn’t run longer than six miles at a time leading up to the marathon, (b) drank wine at each stand, (c) had two beers and ate a plate of fries, three oysters, three pieces of steak and an ice cream bar along the way and (d) took all the photos and videos of this incredible experience!
We did it!
Nothing better than a nice cold beer after a run!
Thank you for letting me sit under your umbrella and get some shade! I ran the marathon by myself but met some awesome people along the way!
Found the UK girls from the shuttle to Pauillac from Friday!
The Party Keeps Going!
While I was running to make the shuttle back to Bordeaux, I met another Korean girl who had lived in New York City, and a couple of very generous Swiss guys walked through the bus and shared bottles of wine and snacks they bought with the passengers. What’s another taste of wine or two after you have had 26 samples of wine earlier in the day?
The Swag
In addition to the finisher’s medal, each finisher received a commemorative bottle of wine and a backpack to take home. The pain from the run may last for a few days, but the memories last forever.
