Back to In Flanders Fields Marathon Information & Reviews
Rod Hergott from Edmonton Alberta
(10/6/2003)
"Wonderful people and beautiful countryside" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 A great level course with lots of cows and corn. When I think of Belgium, I think of cream, chocolate, ww1 and bikes. There were approximately 250 Canadian runners this year who made things pretty lively. | |
A. G. from Scotland
(7/4/2003)
"A real 'peach' of a marathon" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Ran this in 2002, and will be returning this year. Fantastic experience. Organized as if a local event, with the village and community coming together to help at the start, along the way, and at the end. Andre, the main organizer, greets every runner as they cross the line. Very reasonable entry fee. Lovely, flat course along either canal lanes, paths, or cycle - almost nothing on car-congested roads. Run past some of the sites of the most poignant of the WW1 battles. Adequate water points every 5K or so, and a real spectactular finish in Ypres town square. One odd thing about this run is that, after 4K, helpers join many of the runners, cycling beside them for the remaining 38K. At points, can feel a bit overwhelmed by cyclists, and a bit annoyed when feeling thirsty and watching cyclists pass juice and food to 'their' runners. Final warning to non Dutch/Flemish readers; if you're travelling from Ypres to the start, you MUST buy a ticket for the bus in advance. A lot of us were left stranded last year, and ended up sharing other runners' cars to make it to the start in time. So, if entering via the web site, go in via the Flemish (not the English) system, and tick the bus ticket offer, then pay an extra 5 Euro. Easy to follow even if you don't speak Flemish - just push the 'inschrijven' selection. It's all intuition from there. Apart from that issue, this is probably one of the most 'recommendable' marathons of those I have ever run. If you want a low-key, good value, flat-coursed event with friendly organization... go for this one! | |
A Runner from Singapore
(9/9/2002)
"Very Relaxing Race!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Compared to the recent large marathons I've run (eg: Rock-n-Roll marathon, Marine Corps marathon, NYC, etc), this was a very pleasant change. It is small (~500 people) and largely runs next to a river on the left and cow pastures on the right. The course goes through 2 small towns before finishing in the historical Ieper. It is a very nice race! The course is super flat (almost too flat), and water stations are every 5 km. They serve Evian in 10 oz. bottles and a sports drink at each water station. There are also about 4-5 sponge stations on the course. I highly recommend this race. We had a bit of bad luck with weather as we had a 20 mph headwind the entire race (the wind typically blows from the opposite direction) and it rained about half of the race. Still it was great fun. The finish line is spectacular. Andre (the race director) is there to shake hands with each and every runner. | |
A Runner from Belgium
(1/19/2002)
"Friendliest marathon in Belgium" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Let me tell you this: this is by far the friendliest marathon in Belgium... The organizer will wait at the finish line until the very last runner has arrived and he will have a word for everybody. Scenery is superb on this pancake-flat race and you will run through the battlefields of WW1 (the marathon is also called 'a marathon for peace'). If the weather is fine (which you can never predict in Belgium) you may expect a fast time. Run this one: it is top notch and cheap. | |
Luc Tacq from Menen, Belgium
(9/12/2001)
"nice Run 2001" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Weather was good (not too hot). A bit windy, but most of the time in our favour. Good signalisation - no traffic. Based on the weather there was enough water (every 5 km) and now and then sportdrinks. Also a fine run. |
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