Could it be a good deal to sign up for an international tour instead of a domestic one? #MedocMarathon2014

I will try to keep as many records as I can about the Medoc Marathon and personal arrangements.

The contents of this issue are.

「個人エントリーは安上がりにできるが、ホテルや移動手段を手配するのは大変」

「国内の旅行会社を通してのエントリーはいろいろと楽だけど余計な観光も着くところが多くて高い」

「海外の旅行会社を通して申し込みをすると無駄な観光がなくて若干安い」

I’d like to write about these things as they come together.

Private arrangements are the cheapest, but a lot of work!

The Medoc Marathon was the 30th edition of the race and it may be the only one, but it was extremely difficult to register on the web.

However, it is also true that if you are able to enter individually, your expenses will be minimal compared to entering through a travel agency, although you will have to make various arrangements (airline tickets, accommodation, transportation, etc.) on your own afterwards.

However, I found this personal arrangement to be more difficult than I expected.

まずはホテルの手配。普段であれば大した難しさではないのですが、スタート地点であるメドック地区ポイヤック付近のホテルは、レースの前日および当日はほぼすべてが満室となっておりで予約できません。

It’s highly likely that every travel agency in the world, including local ones, has pre-ordered the tickets.

一方で、ボルドー市内というと、ここはさすがに大都市だけあってなんとかなります。しかし、この場合に問題となるのが当日の移動手段です。まだ前日はがんばれば何とかなるレベル。とにかく当日がどうしようもない。

どうやら前日および当日ともに、ボルドー市内からポイヤックまでのシャトルバスが準備されるようなのですが、このシャトルバスの運行に関する詳細情報がメドックマラソンエントリー時には詳しい内容がよくわからないんです。

If you’ve done it several times before, you might be worried that you might not be able to find a way to get around on the day of the event, even if you’ve applied for it in early April.

個人手配した方の情報がネットなどに全くないわけではありませんが、やはりこのメドックマラソン参加者のほとんどは、（国内の）旅行会社を通してが多いらしく、参加者のブログの大半は移動に関するはなしについて、ほとんど言及されていないのが現状です。そりゃそうですよね。

Finally, in June, the shuttle bus service information was released from the official website, but even so, reservations could only be made one month before the event.

As I’m a worrier, I’d like to have this kind of information confirmed when I can enter it. That’s why I’m trying to keep a record of it in my blog.

I will write another article about the shuttle bus as soon as the registration starts.

Arranging through a travel agency is a lot easier, but expensive!

Individual arrangements certainly have the greatest advantage of being the most inexpensive, but even if you are able to enter successfully, not to mention the first-come, first-served application on the Internet, as mentioned above, it is very difficult and risky to make hotel and transportation arrangements for the day before the event.

This is where entry through a travel agency comes in handy.

Perhaps because of the popularity of the Medoc Marathon, various travel agencies are planning package tours.

Even though it is in France, many people seem to participate through these tours because of the region of Bordeaux and, as mentioned above, the difficulty of making individual arrangements.

However, applying through a tour company, sure, it’s convenient in many ways, but after all, many of them are expensive!

There are still some relatively minimalist plans like HIS’s, but

Still, some sightseeing is included, and the price is 500 euro without hotel. This is honestly high.

Most of the tours include a tour of the chateaus in the Medoc before or after the tournament, or a sightseeing tour of Saint Emilion, a world heritage site outside of Bordeaux. They also have tours that take you to other regions of France.

However, even if this kind of sightseeing is set, it still seems to be more expensive than usual.

Overseas tours are relatively cheap and Good! But they are also hard.

So I recommend you to apply for a tour abroad. Of course, it may be more difficult to gather information than in Japan, and it may be difficult to use if you don’t have some English ability, but I think the merit is that many of them don’t have extra tours attached, and you can join them cheaper than the ones planned by Japanese travel agencies.

I’m sure there are many more, but here are two tours I’ve actually signed up for that I’ve learned a lot about from my running and drinking buddies.

First of all, this one is from a travel agency in England.

You can easily apply through our website.

The entry fee, hotel and breakfast in Bordeaux for two days before (12th) and on the day (13th) of the marathon, and transportation to the opening of the marathon on the day of the marathon are about 400 pounds ≒ 70,000 yen. There is no extra sightseeing.

I actually applied for this one. The main reason is that I wanted to secure the means of transportation on the day. I just want to collect information (blog material?) There is also the purpose of

The other one is this tour company in Australia. A friend of mine who is a running buddy of mine had applied from here.

Prices start from 720 Australian dollars, which is about 70,000 yen.

This also includes 2 nights accommodation and breakfast in the entry fee. Of course, you will be picked up and dropped off at the site on the day of the event and taken back to Bordeaux afterwards. It’s not on the screenshot above, but it’s on another page.

The application is completed by filling out the prescribed application form, scanning it, and sending it in pdf format.

Also, I don’t know who I ended up signing up for, but there was one from a German travel agency.

I don’t know if these travel agencies will plan similar tours next year, but I think it’s good to know at least the option of « using an overseas travel agency ».

However, it is important to note that even for overseas tours, applications will be fiercely contested on a first-come, first-served basis.

海外ツアー申し込みにおける“Medical Certificate”

海外ツアー申し込みにおける“Medical Certificate”については、自分で英文の診断書を病院等で取得するところは個人手配時と同じですが、

At the travel agency in the UK where I applied, there was a document prepared by the convention (I think it was for group applications) that was also available when I made an individual arrangement.

I also had to get a signature from my doctor and submit it to the

When I made a personal arrangement, I scanned the medical certificate and other special documents into a pdf file, and then uploaded the file through the official website of the convention and submitted it, but my travel agency emailed the scanned pdf file to the person designated by the travel agency.

Below is an excerpt from the email I received right after I applied.

I think it would have been easier to email it than upload it.

Which one do you recommend in the end?

I would like to come to this conclusion after actually participating in the event and taking into account the situation on the day of the event, but at the preliminary stage, I think that « entry through an overseas travel agency » is the best way to go.

Rather than waiting for the official website to be updated continuously in the middle of the night, when it starts accepting applications at midnight Japan time and the start time is not clear, it is better to find a suitable overseas travel agency at an early stage.

However, it is hard to discard the cheapest possible individual entry.

I’d like to document it this way, and then actually go there and take my time to think about what I’d recommend when I get back.

The Medoc Marathon is 84 days away.