Nov 23, 2008


Event Stats:
Name Maratona De Curitiba
Date 11/23/2008
Location Curitiba, PR, Brazil
Event Marathon
Finish Time 05:14:37

I'm still more or less untrained, the pinched nerve in my back is still hurting, but what the hell: After not making it to the starting line the last three years, this time there would be no excuse.

I got to to the start early, took some painkillers for the back and tried to stay warm in the cold drizzle. As soon as the gun went off, I realized that marathon in Brazil is more for serious runners than in the northern hemisphere; I found myself towards the end of the pack pretty soon. Made it till about km 20 (mile 13) alright, then my legs and feet started hurting. That was to be expected. In the meantime it had cleared up and was even getting pretty hot. Well, it's Brazil after all.

I ran-walk-ran-walk-walked the rest, making sure to run the last 2km and passing a couple of other runners on the last stretch.

Finished in about 5:15. This is certainly a pretty crappy time, but I'm pretty happy I could run a marathon again at all. Looking forward for the next one.

Race conditions: 2/5

The day started out overcast, cool and with a light drizzle. It heated up pretty soon though, and around noon temperatures were in the mid 30s (mid 90s F). Being a city marathon, running was all on well-asphalted streets.

Scenery: 1/5

Curitiba is rather green for a 2+ million city and has a lot of parks. Unfortunately, the race course had nothing of that, just 42 km of wide city streets, asphalt, apartment buildings, no highlights whatsoever.

Difficulty: 2/5

The race is considered the most difficult marathon in Brazil, and for a reason. There is almost no plane stretch, it's a constant, at times rather steep, up and down. Adding the high temperature (and my lack of training and in one word: Sufferfest

Information: 3/5

OK website, good registration site, good signs and km markers. Solid.

Finisher medal: 4/5 (2/5)

OK medal for international standards, for South America very good. Keep in mind that the race entry was about 15 US$.

Goodies: 5/5

15 US$ For a hip bag, a cap, a race shirt and a medal (and not to forget, a marathon), what more do you want?

The Cheer: 0/5

There were over 3500 athletes running, but I have run trail races with 50 participants that had more cheer than this. Wake up, Curitiba!!!

Overall: 3/10

Well, it's a marathon, it's well organized and tough. But for an experience, I'd pick something else.

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