International Marathon of Marrakech

My BHAG is to run a marathon on every continent (minus Antarctica) by the time I'm 60. The Marrakesh Marathon was my marathon in Africa. I chose it because it primarily suited my itinerary, and plans to explore the country several years earlier had fallen through. So, 2024 was my chance to do both. There was a general lack of important information (that you would normally expect to be available at a well-organized or prestigious marathon event) on the official website(s). Even having two "official" websites run by different event/tour agencies was somewhat disconcerting. I had also read reviews from participants of prior events, and none sounded that great, so my expectations were fairly low. I knew I needed more than the officially provided water and orange slices to get through the event, so I purchased a bum bag/fanny pack at a market stall in Marrakesh to carry my own nutritional items: 1.5 (cut-up) bananas, some pitted dates and a single electrolyte sachet. As it turned out, I needn't have bothered: Support stations provided not only water and orange slices but also bananas, dates and raisins. If only the event organisers had mentioned this in their documentation. It could have saved us not only money but also time (running around to find a suitable bum bag/fanny pack) and would have made for a better sleep (knowing I didn't need to worry about my race nutrition). Race Preparation I regularly run 5-6 days per week, even if I'm not training for a marathon, so it is difficult to tell when my training officially started. In September, 4 months prior to the event, I regularly ran over 60km/37 miles per week, with my long weekend run always being more than 20km. In the 10 weeks leading up to the marathon, I ran 717km/445 miles, which is my highest marathon training mileage since 2015: • I did have a long, easy aerobic buildup even before I started my structured training schedule, increasing mileage weekly and doing longer and longer Sunday runs. • I did six runs of 30km+/19 miles+ in the 10 weeks and still managed to get at least one session of speed workout in a week. • I ran six Parkrun 5km events culminating in early December, when I ran the Millwater Parkrun in 19m44s, so I knew my top speed and therefore the zones I needed to train in. Race Entry I entered the event in early December after ensuring my training was on track and at that stage showed no sign of injuries. I filled out my details at https://marathonmarrakech.ma/. The process was a bit archaic/antiquated: Since I was a foreigner outside of Morocco, I was required to send the entry payment to a bank account in the name of Mustapha BATIT. It seemed a bit dodgy, but we went ahead (transferring the entry fee via Wise), and I received an email confirmation of my entry. Pre-Race Travel and Acclimatisation We travelled from New Zealand to Morocco, breaking up the journey with two stop-overs - in Singapore for three nights and London for two nights. We arrived in Marrakesh on the Saturday, 8 days prior to the event so as to acclimatise and ensure no feelings of jetlag from the long trip remained. On the Sunday - exactly one week prior to the marathon, I did a medium run of 18km at marathon pace. The rest of the week was made up of easy runs. Accommodation We stayed in a Riad just under 2km away from the start/finish line. Although the Riad with its open plan courtyard was occasionally noisy with other guests coming and going, it was in a non-touristy neighbourhood. It had a decent bathroom, good shower, roof top terrace and single beds. The single beds were important, as I occasionally get twitchy legs at night, which affects both my and Sandra's sleep quality. Massage Unlike when we lived in Sydney [link to Sydney comparison article] and had a sports massage every two weeks, getting a massage nowadays is reserved for special occasions. And I always get one in the week before a marathon. I'd contacted several massage services via email prior to arriving in Morocco, but never received a response at all. When we arrived in Marrakesh, I tried contacting them via WhatsApp. I eventually found one in the neighbourhood, and the masseuse turned out to be a physiotherapist. For 90 minutes at La Maison du Tui Na, I paid MAD725 (approximately USD72). Not cheap, but well worth it to get rid of some of the knots and help with some final stretching of the hip flexors. Race Pack Pickup I went to pick up my race pack on the Friday (at the official pickup location), only to find that my name was not on the official list of entrants. I was then instructed to go to another tent, where - after showing the volunteer the confirmation email on my phone - I received a race pack. The fact that my details weren't in the database (or at least not recorded against the race number I received) is a serious issue: What would have happened if I needed medical assistance or died during the event? Without clear identification, no one would know who I was or would be able to contact my next of kin (no information on next of kin is requested during registration or on the back of the race number). Race Day Before the start My routine on marathon race day follows the same script as my normal long weekend runs except for the volume of food and the time eaten before I start. I always have a black coffee and several pieces of toast with peanut butter and a banana. For this race, I woke at 6:00 and started to eat straight away. The coffee was next, to ensure I had time for ablutions before we left our accommodation. Knowing that the walk to the start venue only took 20 minutes, we left at 7:30. There were no maps of the start venue (neither before the race nor at the start area), so it was hard to tell what was available - the location of toilets, bag storage, information booth, etc. Fortunately, the blue portable toilets/porta-loos were easy to find. And once we arrived at the start venue, I took one last opportunity to use them before the queues started to form. I did my normal stretching and a 10 minute warmup run with some stride outs. Start The start was relatively orderly, with drones buzzing overhead taking photographs and many different languages being spoken. Despite that, all loudspeaker announcements were (only) in French. With just over 1,000 participants in the marathon, the field spread out pretty quickly. With the sunrise occurring at the same time the race started (8:30), the temperature at the start was only 9 degrees Celsius. Wearing only my singlet wasn't sufficient - both prior to the start and for the first 5km. In hindsight, I should have worn the official t-shirt on top of my singlet and disposed of it once I'd warmed up sufficiently. My pacing strategy was to use a custom Garmin Workout to keep my pace between 4m50s and 5m00s per kilometre. For the entire race. Nothing more complicated than that. 10km Few people were out on the route cheering us on. Occasionally, a cluster of people would appear at intersections or entertainers would play music and dance. Our footsteps made the most noise. Short conversations between runners broke the initial monotony. The 5km support station with the bottled water was barely noticed or used. Heading out of the city northwards, largely shaded by buildings, we took a sharp right turn at about 9.5km, exposing us fully to the rising sun as we headed south. I ran the 10km in 48m19s. Slightly faster than I wanted (but hopefully not too fast) and on target for a sub-3h30m marathon. 20km From about 15km, after we had passed the walls of the Medina, the course was not overly attractive: new subdivisions, light commercial areas, palm trees, occasional gardens. The road surface was generally good: the roads were wide, and the camber was light. It was easy to just roll through and let the kilometres tick over, minimising the effort by running the tangents from the curb to the centre of the road. Many runners didn't and were hugging the curbline the whole time. Lack of experience? My friend, Rod Dixon won the 1983 New York City Marathon by running the shortest legitimate route, so I followed his lead from 40+ years earlier. As the sun continued to rise, so was the temperature. When I finished, it was 24 degrees Celsius/75 degrees Fahrenheit, but for now, it was just pleasant. I reached the 20km mark in 1h36m50s. Still on my sub-3h30m schedule. I felt good at this stage. I was drinking at every support station and by now, bananas were being offered. 30km As the morning wore on, more people were out supporting the event, and more traffic was building up at the periphery. At times, cars and scooters appeared on the marathon route, but the roads were still wide enough to accommodate both - the occasional vehicle and us strung-out runners. Roundabouts though became bottlenecks: some drivers were impatient or frustrated having to wait, leading to some erratic moves and causing concerns for the safety of us athletes. At 26km, I had stopped at a palm tree for a quick pee. I hadn't seen a portable toilet at the previous support station. I was still feeling pretty good at 30km which passed in 2h26m07s - slowing ever so slightly with an estimated finish time of 3h25m. 40km The next 10km were brutal. And I had not seen it coming, given the amount of training I'd done and my experience running 30+ marathons. I always vow not to walk during a marathon. But for some reason, my resolve was quick to fail me (and as early as 32km). I reasoned with myself to walk 2 lamp posts and run 10, and this was my MO pretty much for the rest of the race. It doesn't seem logical now. I was hurting and tired (as expected), but I wasn't in pain. I didn't like being passed (and cheered on) by an Australian who had seen my small New Zealand flag on the back of my singlet. No Kiwi ever likes being beaten by an Aussie. I always knew I would finish, and by this stage, I'd stopped checking my watch to stay on target. I should have. The effort I'd put in at the beginning was being negated by my lack of self-drive and will power. The 40km couldn't come soon enough: 3h25m29s was meant to be my finish time. But I still had 2km to go. While most of it was my own fault, I do attribute some of my lack in drive also to the course itself: • At about 36km, the marathon course joined the 15km mark of the half-marathon course. From being spread out wide and far in a field of 1,100 marathon participants, I turned the corner and was confronted with a road full of slow half-marathon runners in front of me. Having to negotiate around them did not help my tired legs nor my tired mind. • The course route also meant that for the final 2km all participants faced the full brunt of the midday sun. Finish I managed to pick myself up and run the last 2km. The crowds were more vocal with their support, and I kept telling myself that as soon I finished I could stop - obviously (Note to self: I need better mantras). Coming around the corner with barely 500m to go was a relief. I cleaned the snot off my face, turned my smile on, not knowing where the official photographers would be (were there any?). I turned my large bum bag around and got my phone out. I knew I hadn't achieved my goal time, so was happy to lose a few more seconds to take some photos of the finish line as I approached it. Crossing the finish line in 3h38m32s, I was happy to finish, but annoyed at my lack of will power. After the finish line The finish area was bulging with half-marathon runners at the time I finished at 12:08 (so 2h23m into the half-marathon), despite there being a separate finish line for each. I was handed a medal and a small goodie bag containing a bottle of water, a banana and some raisins. There were no maps of the finish area - so again, it was impossible to know what was available (toilets, massage/first aid tent, information booth, lost runners/family reunion area, etc). Sandra took a few photos, and my Africa marathon was ticked off. Given our accommodation was only 1.7km from the finish line, I decided to hobble back slowly. I'm sure it was good for my body. For the rest of the afternoon, I slept, hydrated slowly and recovered. So much so that I was able to join a Street Food Walking Tour the following evening. Results My goal time prior to starting was 3h30m, and I finished in 3h38m with an average pace of 5m11s per kilometre. I finished 395th out of 1,170 finishers and 20th in my age group of M5559. See the official results and Strava. Given my personal details were not in the database, only my race number (222) was initially searchable. I informed the organisers via email - actually sending the email to four different email addresses, as (like the website/s) it was difficult to know which one was the correct one for the event organisers. Although I was told I may need to wait up to a week to see my name, it appeared a few days later. I then had to email again asking for the country and date of birth to be included. My results now show my name, my city (not country) and my age group results, but half the timing location data is incorrect. All in all a very poor experience.

Great race!

My first half marathon in Africa. Childish delight. Weather in January very doable. What's not to like?

Nice run

Great destination for a marathon with scenery around the city.

The route is great and a fast track.

من اجمل السباقات اللتي خضتها هو ماراثون مراكش الدولي

موعدنا في شهر شتنبر ان شاء الله

Not a huge fan of this race truth be told. The race is boring and not at all the scenic camel and olive grove route it looks on paper, more like endless motorway, shouting taxi drivers and children running up to you trying to grab your water bottles. You're given a small bottle of water and an orange every 5 - 7 km which doesn't really cut it when you're closer to the end. The medal is pretty poor quality too and there's no chance you'll ever find the photos of yourself online. Nice to tick Africa off the list though, but I feel like it's better to spend a little more and complete a much funner marathon somewhere else.

Well...this one was challenging. Running through traffic jams, and passing by camels and upset taxi drivers can be fun, but when I was running this race in 2017 the course wasn't cleared all the way. And think that's part of the charm of this marathon. From the moment you pick up your bib you'll feel that this is a "boutique" marathon. Not very much runners and therefore not a real expo and a bit chaotic overall. But that's just like the city. Still think it's almost impossible to organise a marathon over here, but in some way they managed to do so. Most of the route is outside the city center. Running the old centre with its medina is just not possible unfortunately.. The medal is great and I believe this marathon is your best option if you want to run in Northern Africa. And the city... well, I fell in love with Marrakech. The marathon is in January/February, so that makes it a very good option in our wintertime. Think about running at 18 degrees and having a chicken tajine in the sun after you finished near that impressive Djemaa el Fna square.