Kazan Marathon

My partner and I did the Half Marathon and thought it was an excellent route - flat, on wide, smooth roads (so not crowded), and allowing us to see some of the town of Kazan. It was very well-organised, with designated starting gates, pace runners, and aid stations every 2km. We had great weather on the day at around min 13C, max 22C. It also offers amazing value for money, being half what we would pay back home in Australia, and including a nylon bag, long-sleeve running top and good quality medal. The only negative is that, as mentioned by a previous reviewer, it is a bit difficult to negotiate the website and get full information if one doesn't speak any Russian at all. I read and understand a little Russian and found that I had to click through from the landing page on the website to find an English option, and then still contacted the organisers to get answers to some questions (they are very helpful and reply in English). The registration at the Expo is also all done in Russian, so it was lucky that I coud locate things with the little I understand. We did then find an assistant who could speak English at the Information Desk, who was very helpful and friendly, and we also met the Race Director, who was exceptionally welcoming. Our race bag contained a booklet with all the relevant information that we had missed out on, but only in Russian - it would be great if they could do an English version and publish it on their website in pdf as it really has all one needs to know. Even better would be a special pre-race briefing for non-Russian speakers (it would be nice to meet one another). I can highly recommend this event and would be happy to give anyone who is interested further information. Russia, in general, is a fantastic travel destination.

(1) As a foreigner runner, language is a bit challenging (2) Running Route is tough under strong sunlight and dust from road construction (3) No first aids at Ambulance point (4) Many litters, bottles and banana skin dropped without care for the safety of runners behind