The start to the race sees you line up in Receiro and the first thing that hits you is the views they are just incredible. The Brazilian runners are all really friendly and they will be keen to shake your hand and wish you well which really is a great way to start a marathon. The course is very flat and really is all about enjoying the scenery and making sure you take on enough water in the sometimes overpowering heat. Running alongside beautiful beaches really is how we were meant to run so make sure you really enjoy these parts of the race. You will come across a few hairy moments when you feel as if the traffic has not been diverted properly but just keep the faith, in some areas they do try to keep some parts of the road open to the public. There are a couple of large hills towards the end so make sure you keep enough in the tank to deal with them or they can make the end of the marathon feel very long. When you do finish you are greeted by a fantastic crowd of people and you guessed it it's party time!
You are running a marathon so aim high with your fundraising target, although some people will probably complain that you are going on holiday just remind them the money is going to charity and not towards your beers and hotel rooms. Think of some Brazilian themed fundraising ideas and get yourself in the spirit before you go. £1500 should be more than achievable especially if this is your first marathon. Check out the run for charity fundraising A to Z for some great ideas to help you reach your target.
Unfortunately this race does not see many people lining the streets and charity in Rio does not really exist yet. Unless you have some very ambitious charity supporters from home with you this is very much a race that is all about being alone with the scenery. There will be kind locals on the street that will try and hand you fruit and beers along the way so things are not all bad.
You are taking on a marathon so make sure you train for one. Use a full marathon training plan and fit in some hill training to make sure the smallish hills towards the end give you no trouble. One last word of advice it may be hot so make sure you plan to take on plenty of water.
Once you have entered the race do not expect very much from the event organisers. There view is you know when the start time is, where the race starts and you have entered so enough said! Â On the day it is the complete opposite everything is really well looked after, the bag drop, pick up service and all round organisation is very good. The staff are all really nice and a pleasure to spend the day around.
3 out of 5 stars
To choose a charity to support in this event click here or if you already have a charity in mind click here
