A Marathon For Gourmands - Marathon du Medoc

The Marathon du Médoc (or ‘The Medoc Marathon’ in English) will flag off on 11 September 2010 in Pauillac (50 kilometres away from Bordeaux) in the Gironde department of the Aquitaine region in the Southwest of France.

Into its 26th year, the Marathon du Médoc is the second most celebrated marathon race in France after the Paris Marathon. Médoc is one of the many well-known wine-growing regions in France, and as the name of the marathon suggests, the race route will wind through the 53 famous vineyards in the region: Latour, Léoville, Pichon Longueville, Lynch-Bages, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Beychelle, Fraud-Pu-Lacoste, Pontet-Canet, Mouton-Rothschild, Lafite-Rothschild, Cos Labory, Pomys, La Haye, Marquis de St-Estèphe, Phélan-Ségur, Haut-Marbuzet, Cordeillan-Bages, among many others.

The organisers of the marathon aim to relay the message of “Wine, sports, fun and health!” as the main spirit of the event. As a tradition, all runners are encouraged to adhere to the dress code of running in a fancy costume (with a different theme every year).

There is no competition for the best time but the runners must keep to a limit of 6 hours and 30 minutes. The runners will be offered tasting of the Grand Cru wines (in moderate portions) at the 23 wine-tasting stops as well as servings of oysters, cheese and other gastronomic delights found at the gastronomic supply stops along the race route.

The runners will also find personnel to attend to their massaging needs at the 16 stations and 10 tents located along the race course. There will also be 55 musical performances and activities on the race circuit, with an additional ‘surprise’ planned by the organisers at the 41-kilometre mark. In addition to the actual race day, the festivities begin the day before and continue the day after the race in Pauillac.

Each year, nearly 15,000 people are vying for a place in the Marathon du Médoc but only about half the number is successful. There are even those who register a year in advance. The Marathon du Médoc saw 8,500 participants last year, of which close to 2,500 are foreign participants (non-French). The event hailed participants as far as Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

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