LUCERNE MARATHON (29.10.23)
Having passed though Switzerland in 2022 to run Liechtenstein Marathon, the pull of the lakes and mountains was proving strong and I couldn't wait to come back and run Runner's World's most picturesque Half Marathon (twice!) in Lucerne. I'd trained pretty hard after my flu/Covid-ridden race in Norway 6 months prior and despite persistent knee niggles I felt reasonably confident that I'd give a good account of myself. I interviewed Gary from near Zurich who told me about his struggles with ME in Switzerland (read here) and got chatting to Nicole and GraceMarie at Verein ME/CFS Schweiz who were keen to help me raise the profile of the illness.
After some plane delays, I landed at Zurich and took the train to Lucerne meeting my running buddy Mark for dinner and beers. The day before the race we took the world's steepest cog railway to the top of Mount Pilatus (2000m) with it's breathtaking view of the Swiss Alps and Alphorn players. We had an affordable pasta meal, a futile walk to find chocolate and 9 hours sleep (making the most of the clocks going back). No bananas at the 6am breakfast so I loaded up on scrambled eggs and pastries before a chilly walk to catch the ship shuttle across the lake to the start line. It certainly was an awesome way to arrive at a race. I chatted to Cat and the kids from the deck and showed them the stunning sunrise view of the massive Lake Lucerne. After an hour of keeping warm in the Museum of Transport Mark and I parted ways and I took my place in my starting pen.
Start
The race began to a countdown in German from 10 and a fair amount of jostling for the first 300 metres or so. The weather was cool and there wasn't much of a breeze. I felt pretty good, a little anxious that the first mile was too slow with all the weaving and bunching but happy steadily catching the 4.30, 4.15 and 4 hour pacers along Haldenstrasse. The course took us back towards the town past a feathered up samba band and an enthusiastic crowd behind the barriers outside the race Expo. Over Seebrucke bridge and it was difficult to decide whether to look over at the iconic wooden Chapel Bridge or the lake but even though I'd taken hundreds of photos of it since I arrived, I settled on Europe's oldest covered bridge and water tower shrouded in pink flowers (14th century). Past the tourist ships by KKL Luzern (a massive concert hall we'd run through later) and down Werfstrasse I was running pretty solid well inside PB pace and feeling good. It was a relief given the knee issues I'd had and the fact that I hadn't run long for 3 weeks but as ever, I had no idea how long that could last.
I was expecting a couple of reasonably steep hills but what presented itself on mile 4 was pretty mad. I hustled up this one but knew it was going to be a problem on lap 2 after 2 hours of running. Fortunately this time around the downill was long and offset the slow ascent nicely so it wasn't too bad but I knew there was another one on the way. My watch seemed to have lost satellites for a few minutes and was telling me I was going much slower than I knew I was, I hoped that wouldn't mean that I'd be short of the marathon distance at the end. In keeping with tradition I was wearing a national football shirt of the country I was running in, so I had many calls of 'Hop Schweiz' on the way round and the odd 'Hop Mike'.
Middle
The peninsula at Horw was breathtaking, I actually had a bit of a lump in my throat running alongside the beautiful lake to the left and mountains ahead. I tried to capture it on my phone as I was running but of course I didn't do it justice. The outlying houses tracking the lake at St Niklausen and Kastanienbaum were classical wooden alpine ones with shutters, some with a small stables and a field. I grabbed plenty of water as the course turned right towards Horw village but I was starting to overheat a bit. Mark came running by me and we did a quick high five, he was motoring along really well, probably about 10-15 minutes ahead at this point. There was a slight incline to climb a small bridge and then the route tracked the rail track before running round a traffic cone for the switchback. This was probably the dullest part of the race in truth, only livened up by a brief stint past a large log pile. I grabbed some banana pieces, drank an electrolyte pouch that I was carrying on my bottle belt and continued at a steady speed across a railway line with allotments, sheds and a family having a barbecue.
Next up was a run through FC Luzern's football stadium which was pretty cool. The Swissporarena is only 12 years old and a cute 18,000 capacity but it has a solar farm on top of it with over 7000 panels providing energy to the local area! Gold in colour from the outside, with a mass of blue seats on the inside, it was fun to run around 2 edges of it on the astroturf just next to the pitch with maybe 100 spectators cheering, as well as a video screen and PA blaring out names as the runners came by. Out through the stadium, through some unremarkable car parks, a flyover and up towards central Lucerne I was making decent time still and chucking water over my head at every opportunity. I could hear the blaring euro-pop of the Culture and Congress Centre by the docks and soon enough I was running through there on a wide red carpet with inflatable arches and dazzling disco lights. It was a bit weird after the tranquility back by the lake but kind of fun, especially as strong gusts of wind were making the carpet rise and waft at points. Running across light cobbles before crossing at Reussbrucke, there was a good view of Chapel Bridge to the right and the even older wooden bridge at Spreuerbrucke.
End
I ran back past the imperious Schweizerhof Hotel having crossed a couple of small squares in the old-town and the pretty pink and blue clock tower at Burgerstrasse. There was another traffic cone turn-around at the halfway point at Hofkirche, a Renaissance style catholic church with two towers and curved rooftops. I put in my earphones at this point and spent the next few miles listening to a weird combo of Elton John, Metallica and Sam Fender as I could feel my pace drop a bit from 8.15 mins per mile to 9 mins per mile. I wasn't looking forward to a repeat of the hill at mile 16/17 and found it pretty tough shuffling up it and trying to pick up the legs down the other side. I overtook 4 firefighters in full kit with breathing apparatus on and an old lady running the Half who must have been in her 80's, amazing. Back out towards the lake it was very tempting to jump in for a bit but I kept restrained and chomped on another energy gel and threw another paper cup of water over my head and wrists. I got to 20 miles in around 3 hours, I knew that the chance of PB was over really but decided to make sure I got under 4hrs 15 mins which would still be my best for 2 years and good use of my training. To do that I'd have to make sure that if I walked up the hills, I had to get good speed down them. I high-fived 7 girls who were cheering the runners dressed in inflatable dolphin costumes, not sure what that was about. We were also treated to more longhorns, large cowbell ringing and accordions out by the river along with a DJ playing 'You Shook Me All Night Long' by ACDC (the only song of theirs I like).
Back around the edge of the lake, this time without the log pile switchback and through the stadium once more. I knew there was only 3 miles or so to go and felt pretty slow, I wasn't stopping much or walking a lot but I was passed by the 4 hr 15 mins pacer who I thought was well ahead of where he should be. I got hit by a half full water cup in the face at one station here, the lady was apologetic -she was aiming for the bag bin. A timely wake up call to get a move on maybe! The half marathon runners were powering by as I got within 1 mile of the finish, always a bit disconcerting but not their fault I guess. The last mile along Haldenstrasse took forever. Finally at the Transport Museum (Switzerland's most popular apparently), I ran through the building, then through the fuselage of a jumbo jet, overtaking the 4 hr 15 pacers in a sort of sprint and over the line. I found Mark at the finish and Nicole, Cornelia and Patrick, all Swiss residents from the ME community who came to cheer me on. We went for a beer and some schnitzel and chatted about ME, Swiss Politics and Trip-hop before heading back to the hotel for a shower and into the Irish bars for many pints and football matches.
Weather
Starting at around 10c rising to 18/19c. Sunshine and light cloud throughout and the occasional breeze.
Ratings
Course: 9/10 - City centre, leafy suburbs, gorgeous lakes and mountains all around, views were breathtaking at times.
Expo: 6/10 - Inside the very grand Hotel Schweizerhof. A few stands, nice bustle but all a bit cramped.
Support: 8/10 - Excellent in the built up areas, alphorns, brass bands, samba, lone accordions and plenty of signs, kids high-fiving etc.
Refreshments: 5/10 - Water in carboard cups (a third full), sports drink, banana pieces and biscuit.
Goodie Bag: 4/10 - Leaflets, 'digital offers', free beer and pasta voucher, white t-shirt that was a bit see-through, pretty uninspiring.
Medal & Pics: 8/10 - Chunky gold medal with nice ribbon. Only 7 pics and no video highlights (for me), 1 free pic voucher code.
Time Completed: 4 hrs 13 mins - race info here
After some plane delays, I landed at Zurich and took the train to Lucerne meeting my running buddy Mark for dinner and beers. The day before the race we took the world's steepest cog railway to the top of Mount Pilatus (2000m) with it's breathtaking view of the Swiss Alps and Alphorn players. We had an affordable pasta meal, a futile walk to find chocolate and 9 hours sleep (making the most of the clocks going back). No bananas at the 6am breakfast so I loaded up on scrambled eggs and pastries before a chilly walk to catch the ship shuttle across the lake to the start line. It certainly was an awesome way to arrive at a race. I chatted to Cat and the kids from the deck and showed them the stunning sunrise view of the massive Lake Lucerne. After an hour of keeping warm in the Museum of Transport Mark and I parted ways and I took my place in my starting pen.
Start
The race began to a countdown in German from 10 and a fair amount of jostling for the first 300 metres or so. The weather was cool and there wasn't much of a breeze. I felt pretty good, a little anxious that the first mile was too slow with all the weaving and bunching but happy steadily catching the 4.30, 4.15 and 4 hour pacers along Haldenstrasse. The course took us back towards the town past a feathered up samba band and an enthusiastic crowd behind the barriers outside the race Expo. Over Seebrucke bridge and it was difficult to decide whether to look over at the iconic wooden Chapel Bridge or the lake but even though I'd taken hundreds of photos of it since I arrived, I settled on Europe's oldest covered bridge and water tower shrouded in pink flowers (14th century). Past the tourist ships by KKL Luzern (a massive concert hall we'd run through later) and down Werfstrasse I was running pretty solid well inside PB pace and feeling good. It was a relief given the knee issues I'd had and the fact that I hadn't run long for 3 weeks but as ever, I had no idea how long that could last.
I was expecting a couple of reasonably steep hills but what presented itself on mile 4 was pretty mad. I hustled up this one but knew it was going to be a problem on lap 2 after 2 hours of running. Fortunately this time around the downill was long and offset the slow ascent nicely so it wasn't too bad but I knew there was another one on the way. My watch seemed to have lost satellites for a few minutes and was telling me I was going much slower than I knew I was, I hoped that wouldn't mean that I'd be short of the marathon distance at the end. In keeping with tradition I was wearing a national football shirt of the country I was running in, so I had many calls of 'Hop Schweiz' on the way round and the odd 'Hop Mike'.
Middle
The peninsula at Horw was breathtaking, I actually had a bit of a lump in my throat running alongside the beautiful lake to the left and mountains ahead. I tried to capture it on my phone as I was running but of course I didn't do it justice. The outlying houses tracking the lake at St Niklausen and Kastanienbaum were classical wooden alpine ones with shutters, some with a small stables and a field. I grabbed plenty of water as the course turned right towards Horw village but I was starting to overheat a bit. Mark came running by me and we did a quick high five, he was motoring along really well, probably about 10-15 minutes ahead at this point. There was a slight incline to climb a small bridge and then the route tracked the rail track before running round a traffic cone for the switchback. This was probably the dullest part of the race in truth, only livened up by a brief stint past a large log pile. I grabbed some banana pieces, drank an electrolyte pouch that I was carrying on my bottle belt and continued at a steady speed across a railway line with allotments, sheds and a family having a barbecue.
Next up was a run through FC Luzern's football stadium which was pretty cool. The Swissporarena is only 12 years old and a cute 18,000 capacity but it has a solar farm on top of it with over 7000 panels providing energy to the local area! Gold in colour from the outside, with a mass of blue seats on the inside, it was fun to run around 2 edges of it on the astroturf just next to the pitch with maybe 100 spectators cheering, as well as a video screen and PA blaring out names as the runners came by. Out through the stadium, through some unremarkable car parks, a flyover and up towards central Lucerne I was making decent time still and chucking water over my head at every opportunity. I could hear the blaring euro-pop of the Culture and Congress Centre by the docks and soon enough I was running through there on a wide red carpet with inflatable arches and dazzling disco lights. It was a bit weird after the tranquility back by the lake but kind of fun, especially as strong gusts of wind were making the carpet rise and waft at points. Running across light cobbles before crossing at Reussbrucke, there was a good view of Chapel Bridge to the right and the even older wooden bridge at Spreuerbrucke.
End
I ran back past the imperious Schweizerhof Hotel having crossed a couple of small squares in the old-town and the pretty pink and blue clock tower at Burgerstrasse. There was another traffic cone turn-around at the halfway point at Hofkirche, a Renaissance style catholic church with two towers and curved rooftops. I put in my earphones at this point and spent the next few miles listening to a weird combo of Elton John, Metallica and Sam Fender as I could feel my pace drop a bit from 8.15 mins per mile to 9 mins per mile. I wasn't looking forward to a repeat of the hill at mile 16/17 and found it pretty tough shuffling up it and trying to pick up the legs down the other side. I overtook 4 firefighters in full kit with breathing apparatus on and an old lady running the Half who must have been in her 80's, amazing. Back out towards the lake it was very tempting to jump in for a bit but I kept restrained and chomped on another energy gel and threw another paper cup of water over my head and wrists. I got to 20 miles in around 3 hours, I knew that the chance of PB was over really but decided to make sure I got under 4hrs 15 mins which would still be my best for 2 years and good use of my training. To do that I'd have to make sure that if I walked up the hills, I had to get good speed down them. I high-fived 7 girls who were cheering the runners dressed in inflatable dolphin costumes, not sure what that was about. We were also treated to more longhorns, large cowbell ringing and accordions out by the river along with a DJ playing 'You Shook Me All Night Long' by ACDC (the only song of theirs I like).
Back around the edge of the lake, this time without the log pile switchback and through the stadium once more. I knew there was only 3 miles or so to go and felt pretty slow, I wasn't stopping much or walking a lot but I was passed by the 4 hr 15 mins pacer who I thought was well ahead of where he should be. I got hit by a half full water cup in the face at one station here, the lady was apologetic -she was aiming for the bag bin. A timely wake up call to get a move on maybe! The half marathon runners were powering by as I got within 1 mile of the finish, always a bit disconcerting but not their fault I guess. The last mile along Haldenstrasse took forever. Finally at the Transport Museum (Switzerland's most popular apparently), I ran through the building, then through the fuselage of a jumbo jet, overtaking the 4 hr 15 pacers in a sort of sprint and over the line. I found Mark at the finish and Nicole, Cornelia and Patrick, all Swiss residents from the ME community who came to cheer me on. We went for a beer and some schnitzel and chatted about ME, Swiss Politics and Trip-hop before heading back to the hotel for a shower and into the Irish bars for many pints and football matches.
Weather
Starting at around 10c rising to 18/19c. Sunshine and light cloud throughout and the occasional breeze.
Ratings
Course: 9/10 - City centre, leafy suburbs, gorgeous lakes and mountains all around, views were breathtaking at times.
Expo: 6/10 - Inside the very grand Hotel Schweizerhof. A few stands, nice bustle but all a bit cramped.
Support: 8/10 - Excellent in the built up areas, alphorns, brass bands, samba, lone accordions and plenty of signs, kids high-fiving etc.
Refreshments: 5/10 - Water in carboard cups (a third full), sports drink, banana pieces and biscuit.
Goodie Bag: 4/10 - Leaflets, 'digital offers', free beer and pasta voucher, white t-shirt that was a bit see-through, pretty uninspiring.
Medal & Pics: 8/10 - Chunky gold medal with nice ribbon. Only 7 pics and no video highlights (for me), 1 free pic voucher code.
Time Completed: 4 hrs 13 mins - race info here