Race Report 20 November 2022 4 min

Deauville Half Marathon 2022 — Finishing on the Famous Boardwalk

Third edition of the Deauville Half Marathon in Norman rain. A hard race, but an iconic finish on Deauville's famous boardwalk.

A new race weekend after more than a month off, but I approached it with some anxiety: a pain in my right leg had been flaring up whenever I tried to run — not exactly the best sign going into a race. I’d taken ten full days off training to let my body recover. I wasn’t satisfied with how I felt heading into Sunday morning, but I still had hope.

Saturday: Race Pack Collection

Race village in Deauville

Off to Deauville for the race’s third edition. I drove up from Paris on Saturday to collect my bib — a mandatory step before the race. There were, somewhat surprisingly, a fair number of people already at the expo for the various events on offer. The village was fairly small, with the usual food and nutrition stands plus a handful of races that might catch runners’ interest — from the Cabourg Marathon to the 100km ultra trail in Angkor, Cambodia.

After picking up my bib, I spent the rest of the day exploring Deauville: the casino, the sea views, the charming town centre, the pretty town hall. Back at my Airbnb, it was time for the pre-race ritual: kit, race nutrition, breakfast plan, pinning the bib. Small details, but useful for going into race day with a clear head.

One thing worth noting: accommodation in Deauville is not cheap. That’s something to factor into the overall cost alongside transport, entry fee and food.

The Course

Deauville Half Marathon 2022 Course Map

Sunday: Race Day

The atmosphere was completely different from the previous month. Around 5°C and raining from the moment I woke up at 6:50am. With a race start at 8:15, no chance of a lie-in. I began my warm-up less than 10 minutes from my accommodation, nervous that the leg pain would return. Once my muscles were warmer, I felt reasonably good. My body needed the effort after those rest days.

The start was slightly delayed, eventually going off at 8:20. The rain had paused and the start zone was very narrow, making it impossible to run at your own pace. For roughly five kilometres I was constantly accelerating and braking — genuinely frustrating. The rain resumed around km 4 or 5, lightly at first.

By then I could at least find my rhythm, though increasingly difficult weather conditions made that a battle. I could barely see anything through the rain and fog on my glasses, fortunately the course was flat. This was also the first aid station — cups of water and cola, chocolate, fruit and haribo sweets — the first time I’d seen cola or sweets at an aid station.

From km 6 to 10, we passed through Saint-Arnoult and Tourgeville, watching the leading runners come back towards us at pace on the other side of the road, climbing hard. Still raining. Legs were comfortable enough at this point, but honestly all I could think about was the shower we were getting.

For the second half, conditions finally improved and I turned all my focus to the finish. We ran alongside Deauville’s two racecourses before the final one and a half kilometres to the end. The crowd was a little more present at this point, though the weather hardly encouraged spectators. The finish is iconic — you arrive on Deauville’s famous Les Planches boardwalk. As always, the last kilometres were the hardest, but I found a second wind around km 16 and pushed hard.