Destinations Races

Just (Spontaneously) Registered for My Next International Marathon

By Kristijan Ilic (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Written by Charlie

I just registered – a bit spontaneously – for my next international marathon. It is the Belgrade Marathon that will be run on April 21. It sounds like a fun race and it was pretty cheap! Want to join me?

Even though I have run over 50 marathons and ultra marathons (races over 26.2 miles), the last two years were somewhat of a racing dearth for me. I had run a single marathon in 2016, nothing in 2017, and then finally did another one last month (review coming this week). This was all due to some different factors – scheduling, asthma issues, etc.

Just (Spontaneously) Registered for My Next International Marathon

But, now that I have done one marathon, I am back in the mode of running them! My last marathon was both better and worse than I thought it would be (based on when I thought about it during training!) but I had at least gotten some time on my feet so I thought it would be great to do one again – soon.

My schedule is normally busy enough on weekends that it can be hard to find a marathon close enough that will work for me. But, I found one!

The Belgrade Marathon – April 21, 2018

Link: Belgrade Marathon

In just a bit over 4 weeks, I will be running the Belgrade Marathon. This will not only be a new marathon country for me but also the first time I will have every been in Serbia! I am really looking forward to running this one!

This will be the 31st anniversary of this marathon so they have been putting it on for a while. They should definitely have it down by now so that should make it a pretty nicely organized race. I do plan on doing a full review of the marathon after and maybe some videos from the course.

However, this is definitely not a goal marathon for me in terms of pace or time. I just want to get out there again and keep my running interest engaged for training as I wait for the training for my next serious race to begin. That may be a really interesting race – I should know in the next couple of weeks!

Travel and Cost

So, I will be flying into Belgrade using Air Serbia, staying at the Hyatt Regency Belgrade, and then flying out through Germany. The flights were all cheap enough (inter-European flights) as was the Hyatt night. Even the marathon was really cheap by marathon standards – only $50!

Amazingly, if you register early enough, you would only pay €25! That is insanely cheap for a marathon! Here is what each registrant gets for that marathon fee:

  • Race number with timing chip
  • T-shirt
  • Medal at the finish
  • Diploma
  • Refreshment along the course and at the finish area
  • Race programme/map
  • Pasta party

Ok, say they are going with cheap cotton t-shirts and paying a couple of bucks for it. Then you add in a few bucks for the medal (not sure what it is like yet – will know soon!), the timing services and the pasta party. Between all of those things, you are probably at about a cost of $13 on the low end. What they are charging is definitely a deal!

Want to come run it as well? Registration is still open! 🙂 Let me know if you will be there also!

Featured image courtesy of Kristijan Ilic (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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About the author

Charlie

Charlie has been an avid traveler and runner for many years. He has run in marathons around the world for less than it would cost to travel to the next town - all as a result of collecting and using miles and points. Over the years, he has flown hundreds of thousands of miles and collected millions of miles and points.
Now he uses this experience and knowledge to help others through Running with Miles.

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