Nice Marathon 3rd November 2024 – The Alpes-Maritimes Nice-Cannes Marathon has been held between Nice and Cannes since 2008. The course traverses through a number of towns along the Côte d’Azur, with stunning sea and palm trees background.
In 2024, Time-to-Run had the fortunate chance to have Tommi Pekkanen cover the event for us. This is his story.
Onto Nice Marathon 2024
The intention was to end the season with the marathon I ran in Tallinn Marathon in September. I achieved the goal I had set for myself – broke 3 hours which had been a challenge for me. After Tallinn, I ended up running a few more races – a half marathon and a 10 km race.
Yet, I felt that I needed one more challenge for the rest of the season, preferably abroad somewhere beautiful. In our running group, a few fellow runners had booked for the Nice-Cannes marathon and they managed to talk me into joining them. I have played water polo in Nice in my youth and I remember it as a beautiful beach destination, where the relaxed attitude to life and the seascape combined with a lively urban community were noteworthy. In addition, I had heard only good things about the event itself from my running friends. I booked the travel tickets and just as I was about to register for the marathon itself, the marathon was sold out. I sent a few messages to the event organizers, unfortunately I didn’t get a reply from them. Fortunately, our running coach Gavin was able to organise an entry for the event. A big thanks to Gavin. All that was needed now, was to prepare for the marathon with a few specific training sessions, the base had already been built during summer. I didn’t directly set a specific goal for the event, after all, I had already accomplished the main goal of the season in Tallinn. Still, I wanted to give sub 3 hours another go.
Travel and arrive in Nice
I left in good time, I booked a hotel room at Scandic Airport because of an early flight. I had dinner and enjoyed a good night’s sleep before the flight. I flew with Lufthansa with one stopover and a transfer in Germany. The airline deserves some praise as everything worked flawlessly from the reservation to the flight itself, and you can get information about delays or the location of your bag via the mobile app.
After arriving in Nice, I collected my bags and conveniently travelled by train from the airport to the city centre. I had reserved a hotel room for the first night. I was able to check in to the hotel a little earlier and settle down in my room before I walked to the competition centre where I collected my race number and got a few product freebies, for example a backpack. I must mention the impressive safety checks that were in place at the race centre. Perhaps this is necessary when it comes to such a big event. The race centre was situated in a beautiful location near the seashore. I stayed for the afternoon to walk around the beach and admire the sunset. There were a lot of people everywhere and it was nice to greet the runners from different nationalities who had also come to run the event. I could sense the excitement and anticipation, and it is the atmosphere that makes these big running events so unique. As the daylight started to fade, I wanted to find a place to eat before going to bed. Fortunately, there were plenty of places to choose from, and some of them were also accessible without a table reservation.
The next morning I went for a run on the beach front while admiring the sunrise. A few other runners also joined me. After the run, I had breakfast and I relaxed in the hotel room, conserving energy for the next day’s marathon. In the afternoon, I checked out and left the biggest bag in the hotel’s storage. I headed towards the race centre along the main street and found a place to eat lunch. While having my lunch on the terrace at a local street restaurant, I was able to watch the buzz of the city and breathe in the French city atmosphere. The temperature was +20 degrees and it felt very warm in places where there was no wind. I was wondering how the temperature would affect my running as I had already got used to the cooler autumn air in Finland. I do enjoy the heat too.
My runner friends came the day after me. I was waiting for them on the beach next to the race centre. They arrived in the evening and as it was getting late we quickly picked up their race bibs before heading to our rented apartment which was just right for us in terms of location and size. We left our belongings in the apartment and went to the store to buy breakfast and other things we needed. We headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Before going to bed, we got everything ready for the next morning including race number and gels. I took a gel at every other drinking station, so I had 5 gels if I remember correctly. I was able to fit all of them in my shorts.
The next morning we woke up early, because the start was already at 8 in the morning. We all had different breakfast and ate whatever works as a pre-race meal. We put on our race outfits and packed our backpacks with what we needed after the run. We headed to the start area, where we left our backpacks to be taken to the finish area in Cannes. We warmed up a little before the start and enjoyed the atmosphere of the starting area and the sunrise. I went closer to the front line. I was able to take a good starting position with the three-hour runners. The leading group was on their own and left a few minutes before us. At this point I also took the first gel and a small sip of water. Once it was our turn to start, I got into a good running group and pace was just right from the start. I followed my heart rate, I had set myself a target value of 160, above which the heart rate should not rise too much during the run. The beginning felt really good and easy. My heart rate stayed low and my fellow runners kept me going at a suitable pace. At the first water point, I only took water.
In the front group we didn’t have any problems with the water points, there were no congestions and there were enough refreshments. The runners coming through later, like my friends, weren’t as lucky. My run continued to go well, the encouragement was great throughout the race and I felt at home with the runners next to me. I took a gel at every other water point, I didn’t touch the sports drinks at all during the run. This seems to work best for me – my stomach can handle it and this way I avoid the feeling of nausea from using different sports drinks. After reaching the halfway mark, running still felt good. I had started a little faster than in Tallinn, which was a conscious risk I was willing to take. Of course, running felt good too. The landscape remained beautiful and the sea sparkled beautifully. The temperature also started to rise towards 20 degrees, and there was hardly any wind. Approaching 30 km, the climbing temperature and perhaps too fast pace initially started to feel. The economy of my running and my running posture had slightly changed, and I could feel the few climbs in my thighs. For the last eight kilometers I hardly looked at the watch. I ran according to how I felt and unfortunately I was starting to feel quite fatigued.
I had to slow down in order to finish honourably without embarrassing myself. Fortunately, the encouragement at the end of the course was the best I’ve experienced in a running race. In addition, the surroundings of Cannes were beautiful to look at. Despite being tired, I tried to enjoy everything. I have to admit that I was very disappointed with my performance in the last few kilometres, because our coach had arranged the opportunity to run this marathon and then I didn’t get to do the performance I wanted to give him. Tears were not far away. I am competitive by nature and I trained very hard when I was young. I’m not afraid to train and run hard in races and it always feels disappointing if I don’t get the performance I think I can do. Still, at almost 50 years old, this feeling is strong. Maybe partly because sport has been a very important part of my identity. Without sports, I don’t know where I would be. For some reason, after finishing this marathon, I felt these things the most. I didn’t let time ( 3.02 ) affect me too much. Although it was disappointing, I still enjoyed running on the route. After reaching the finish line, I had something to drink and eat, sat down on a lounger on the sandy beach and enjoyed the togetherness, the sun and the sea at the same time. My friends finished a little later. Everyone felt good after having crossed the finish line. We went to get our backpacks and changed into clean clothes. We headed to the train station, where, to our dismay, we noticed a long line snaking around it. We stayed to enjoy drinks and food in Cannes and arrived at the station a little later. We got to the accommodation in Nice a few hours later than expected. We took a quick shower and fortunately had reserved a table at a nearby restaurant. All the restaurants seemed to be packed. We ate and drank well and the post-analysis of the run etc. was the best. The next morning we packed our things and headed to the airport. The boys’ flight left a little earlier than mine. I didn’t get home until late in the evening, but it didn’t matter. I enjoyed the run very much. I can warmly recommend this running event to everyone. We already started planning the next running event!
Thanks again Gavin and Piia! This time I was Mickey Mouse..next time I’m not!