Switzerland is a country dear to our hearts. It was the first European country I ever visited in the 90’s and is currently the home base of my sister Minerva and her family. Richard visited Geneva several times as a young boy, staying for a few days with his family, before proceeding to other European destinations. Richard and I visited Switzerland in 2015 for the Zurich marathon. We were in the country again for the Harmony Geneva Marathon for Unicef on May 7, 2017.

We flew with EasyJet to Geneva from Brussels at 11:15 AM on Saturday, May 6, 2017. The flight was an easy 70 minutes. It felt like we were already touching down before we even warmed our seats!

We took the SBB train bound for Lausanne and got off at the first stop, Genève-Cornavin. We walked for 10 minutes to our hotel, Grand Hotel Kempinski Geneva on Quai du Mont-Blanc. We just dropped off our carry-on luggage and we were out again to pick up my bib at Jardin Anglais.

We took the tram back to the hotel to get into our room and drop off the goodie bag. We were upgraded and our room faced the majestic Jet d’Eau. The hotel also provided train cards for unlimited travel for the duration of our stay.

We walked the surrounding area a little bit, posing for photos with the Jet d’Eau in the background.

Thai food takeout at one of the side streets was dinner before we called it an early night.

Up early for the race, we made our way to the restaurant to enjoy a leisurely champagne buffet breakfast and the dramatic water view in the background.

Starting point was in Chêne-Bourg in Place Favre. The tram ride took about 20 minutes. There were about 17,400 runners across all race formats so this race was huge!

The race with a six-hour time limit took us to different areas of Geneva, weaving around housing areas, vineyards, and the city center before winding up at Pont du Mont Blanc by the Jardin Anglais. The air was fresh and the weather pleasantly cool and perfect for running.

Richard took a photo of this black Lambo while he was waiting for me at the finish line.

The finish line scene was unique. They had an extra mile for people who signed up as part of their campaign. I was just glad to cross the first finish line!

We were already checked out of the hotel by the time I finished. I used their fitness center facilities to take a shower before we made our way to the airport for our 5:35 PM flight back home.