Where have you found to be the best marathons abroad?

I've done Edinburgh...as an Englishman this counts as abroad to me!!! ...which was quite good; Dublin which I didn't enjoy; Prague which was a tad boring; and Chicago which I thought was great.

FLM by far the best though.

I have run Belfast which was awfull, Amsterdam which was awesome and I'm off to Berlin this weekend! Wish me luck all of your forumites!

Suffered food poisoning the night before the Amsterdam 1/2m...was up meeting Huey all night, then ran first 3 miles following morning but had to pull out at next train station for free ride back to finish.
Only good for one thing Amsterdam....

Rome marathon is great one - I was invited to do the Adidas Roma 11km back in September, it was organised by the same team that put on the Rome Marathon, they put on a fantastic show and everyone was ranting and raving about their marathon, terrific place, crowds were amazing - it takes place at the end of march - so for those of you who are looking for an alternative to London......

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Good Luck Steepler, I am sure it will be a great run. I too will be in Germany this weekend but in Cologne testing out the local beer... Let us know how you get on?

Hej, (that's Swedish for 'Hi'!)

I'm a brit working for a Swedish co. and they've convinced me to do the Stockholm marathon. It's up there in the top ten of great marathons, but being my first, I'll not be able to compare it to any others.

What I do know, is that it's a beautiful city, loads of water, lots of greenery, good architecture, and friendly people. The downsides are the cost of staying and eating over there, but I know a little about how to limit the costs!

Hej ;-)

I was all set to enter the Stockholm marathon before seeing the places were all gone :-(. After reading reviews (and loving each and every time I've visited Sweden), it sounded like the perfect first Marathon and would have given me just the right length of time required to get Marathon fit.

So now I'm thinking of using one of those prearranged 'tours' to enter. Problem is, it'll be at least £500-600, which isn't quite what I'd imagined spending! What's other people's opinions? Would it be worth it? Would just hate to get injured and end up spending all that money on a white elephant!!!

Amsterdam is a good one...2 laps and flat. Not far to travel and you can arrange your own entry, accommodation and travel quite easily so no need to go on a pre-arranged tour.

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Calvia in Majorca (marathon or half) is nice... few little hills in it but quite pleasant, and the best post race massage I have ever experienced!

Rome marathon, I found tough mainly due to the cobbles, which are prevalent throughout the marathon course and you are constantly watching your feet placement.

Copenhagen marathon is lovely...or was when I did it (2004) but they have changed the course since then and a friend who lives in Denmark says it's not so good.

Miami is the best overseas marathon I have done so far, sunshine, great course and loads of support.

I've run an ultra in Edinburgh.... never again!

I've enjoyed Dublin 5 times because the Guinness helps with recovery by numbing the senses!!

The Connemara Marathon (with a 39.3m Ultra and a Half at the same time) does the same thing of course. Total contrast from Dublin in that it's a much smaller race, you run through stunning countryside (downside - there's not much of a crowd if you exclude the sheep) and the race is small enough for the Race Director and his team to get to know many of the runners . .

Rheims was interesting (with a half and a 10k at the same time) and of course there's loads of champagne to numb the senses oops I mean aid recovery!!

The December Lisbon Marathon (with a half too) wasn't very well supported (whereas I believe there's another one at another time of year which is) but it seemed to be a fast course, it was lovely to run in December in shorts and vest and Lisbon is a beautiful city . .

Have to agree with Trin about Copenhagen . . it was a good course but apparently will be more dull this year . . another lovely city . .

we also watched the Hans Christian Anderssen Marathon in Odense in Denmark last September when we were too injured to take part but had the plane tickets, and that looked interesting too . .

And yes, Miami was simply the best, in my experience . . I don't think we'll find another marathon quite like it . .

Last year I went out to India and recc'd the Taj Mahal Marathon, we've now set it up and it's running this September for the first time ever. More details can be found at the webstie adventure-racing.org.

Steve

Hello,
I am interested in this as based in Prague.

Steve what did you think of Prague Marathon? Thinking this might be my goal for 2008. Doing the GNR September 2007 then continue training to aim for Marathon May 08.

Also anyone done the Berlin Marathon? I here its fast and flat! I worked in Berlin a few years ago so know the center.

Anyone done runs in Hungary or others nearby EU countries?

GOOD and BAD points about Prague race please
Prahalady

I didn't really enjoy the Prague Marathon. It was too hot for me which was made worse by the fact that I decided to run with SWMBO. As she struggled, having done insufficient training, and despite taking on liquid the fact that I was out on the streets for an hour or so longer than I may have been had I run by myself meant that after the race I suffered terrible cramp in both legs and felt ill.

I didn't like the course much either as a lot of it was along a boring road outside the city and therefore we didn't see much of Prague whilst running.

The Expo wasn't much to write home about either.

The good points really relate to the time in Prague when not doing the race!

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Oh! Doesnt sound too good!!
Thought it might have been easier as I am already here. But doesnt sound the most thrilling of runs!!

Maybe I should think about doing some other marathon!

Prahalady