Medoc Marathon 2014, entry with a bang!

I was hoping for a full marathon in 2014, but I was not selected in the lottery for both Tokyo and Kyoto, so I thought it would not happen again this year.

MARATHON DU MEDOC – SITE OFFICIEL http://www.marathondumedoc.com/

This is a famous marathon held in the Medoc region near Bordeaux in France.

Replay Marathon du Medoc 2013 投稿者 MARATHONDUMEDOC

The Medoc region is, yes, the world’s famous wine region. Chateau Margaux, Chateau La Tour and other world famous Bordeaux wine chateaus are located in this area.

Since we are running here, naturally we will be served « wine » during the race, not water, but wine (laughs).

I’ve been wanting to run this race for a long time, but I’ve been hesitant for many years because it’s held in early September, which makes it hard for me to take time off work. This year, however, the race was held on September 13, which coincided with the Respect for the Aged Day holiday, so I decided to enter with an invitation from a fellow runner, thinking that I would only need to take two days off with pay.

There is a company that can do the entry for you, and there are several tours, but they are all expensive including the extra tours. So, I tried to enter individually.

But unfortunately, the website for this tournament is not very good, so it’s hard to get to the entry application page. Moreover, I feel that the site is heavy because of the rush of applications from fans all over the world.

Still, somehow I managed to get to the following application screen.

By the way, I don’t know well, but because I didn’t proceed next in Chrome (specification in Mac), I reopened it again in Safari and proceeded with the registration procedure.

Various « plans » were already sold out, but fortunately, only the marathon participation only plan without any options was not sold out yet.

I don’t think it’s likely, but I signed up for the Cancellation Package as well, in case I can’t participate.

The marathon entry fee is €83 and the cancellation package is €11, for a total of €94.

After that, enter your name, address, age, etc., and then go to credit card payment. This is the end of the registration process.

After entry, you will immediately receive an email to the email you applied for during registration stating that your entry is complete.

This is a relief for now.

After that, we arranged air tickets and hotels. The hotels around Pauillac in the Medoc area, where we started the tour, were already fully booked. For the time being, we tentatively booked a hotel in Bordeaux city, and immediately got an air ticket.

I’m already committed to the marathon, so I’m on a forced schedule with very little sightseeing and no company time off (although I do take two days off)!

9/10　22時　羽田出発（仕事後）
9/11　11時　パリ経由ボルドー到着、車借りてどこか観光
9/12　終日観光、受付？
9/13　マラソン当日
9/14　また観光
9/15　11時　ボルドー出発
9/16　8時　成田到着、そのままエキストリーム出社

This will be my third time in Bordeaux, so yeah….

I’ve included sightseeing the next day, and people tend to wonder if my legs will be okay, but this is a decision based on my experience with the past three marathons. If I prepare well and take care of them properly after the race, I don’t think it will be much of a problem. Of course I have some pain in my legs, but as long as I don’t walk too long a distance, I think I’ll be fine.

Come to think of it, I don’t really know how I’m going to get around on the day of the event yet, so I’ll have to look into that. I also wonder if I have to register the day before or something.

I don’t have much information about people who have made all the arrangements personally, so I guess I’ll have to do more research in the future.

Finally. Actually, I’m not completely done with my entry, yet.

You must submit a « medical certificate » to the convention.