Recap - 24th Firenze Marathon 2007 (Race)

It was a beautiful morning on race day. The weather was cool but not cold. We waited for about 20mins at the bus-stops with other runners. However, the bus just won't come. In the end, we decided to follow other runners to walk to the baggage service. The baggage service was clear and efficient. Unfortunately, the one for women runners were situated right at the end of the line (although they would be nearer to finish line - so no real complain. :p ) After Fennel deposited her baggage, we took the ferry service to the start. The queue for the ferry service was horrendous. There were no real queue and everyone just pushed around to try to hop on to the bus. Luckily, we managed to board the same bus to the start. Phew...

This was a small marathon. However, the atmosphere was great. There was a helicopter getting live feed by circling up from the sky and every runners would wave and scream at the top of their voice. Although the sky looked grey, the sun was slowly coming up. It was a very nice weather. I reckoned it was about 10-12 degree celsius. This was also the first time I decided to run with my compact digital camera. I was glad I brought my camera. Took many shots of the atmosphere, as well as Fennel and I warming up at the start. I hope it won't rain though.

The first 5km of the route was downhill. I was very tempted to go with the rest of the runners but I decided better not to. So it was a easy warm-up run. This part of the course was rather scenic as well as we ran through the road that led through the parks to the top of the hill. At the 5km marker, I came to the first water-point station. They served sports drink, water and also tea! However, I decided against trying it for fear that my stomach would complain.

We ran past the Duomo. It was a magnificent sight though I won't rate it as high as I got when I ran towards the Vatican City in Rome. Having said that, it was an irrelevant comparison as each had its own uniqueness and grandeur. After the 30km mark, I ran into some park. By then, the runners had thinned out and there were only a handful of us. I enjoyed running slowly along this particular stretch of road. It was also because I couldn't find any mobile toilet too. Enduring my inner urge, I took even more photos and chatted with a group of runners from USA. Boy, I was glad cos most of the Italians do not speak much English although they could probably understand you a little.

After the 35km mark, I ran out of the park and towards the city. Again, many old buildings stood on both side of the route. By now, I also ran passed some runners who had completed the marathon - their shinny medals hanging proudly on their chests were the proof that I would reach the end point soon. I ran passed the Duomo II again before turning into the stretch of road where the baggage service was. I knew immediately that I was very close and I was right. When I was at the last few of the baggage service trucks, I saw a right-turn sign and a 42-km marker. Boy! Another 0.195km and I would crossed the finishing line and complete my 21st marathon and my overall 25th marathon/ultramarathon events. My real time was 5 hours 31 minutes 48 seconds while my chip time was 5 hours 28 minutes 11 seconds. It was a good timing despite stopping many times to take more than 100 pictures along this very scenic route. This was a highly recommended marathon to take part if you wanna explore the beauty of Florence by foot.