Disclaimer: As a member of the Rock ‘n’ Blog team, I received free entries to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Montreal 5K and half marathon races. As always, all thoughts are my own and I #keepitreal.
This past weekend I was in Montreal for my first international racecation. I never thought I would ever run a race in another country when I started this whole running thing! Running is Montreal was definitely an experience and I’m happy to share all the details today!
Since it’s Wednesday, I’m linking up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama and Nicole from FitFul Focus for Wild Workout Wednesday.
I’m also linking up with Rachel from Running on Happy, Susie from Suzlyfe, Lora from Crazy Running Girl, and Debbie from Coach Debbie Runs for Coaches’ Corner!
Before getting into my recaps, I guess I should mention that Rock ‘n’ Roll cancelled the marathon a few days before the weekend due to the extreme hot and humid temperatures. I feel like this never happens, so I was pretty shocked, and terrified about how hot and humid it would be the day of the half marathon. I can definitely understand why Rock ‘n’ Roll made that decision, but also understand why runners that were signed up for the marathon were upset with the decision. All runners signed up for the marathon were able to either downgrade to the half marathon, get a full refund or a free entry to another Rock ‘n’ Roll race. I liked that those options were available for those runners.
Expo
The Expo was located at Place Bonaventure. I actually booked my hotel based on the distance to the expo (the website said it was 0.1km away) as it should have been within a walkable distance, but it wasn’t. I was a little annoyed that the information on the website was incorrect, but what can you do?! Luckily it was easy to get to the expo via train, but some more signs from the train station to the expo would have been very helpful.
It wasn’t a super big expo so I was able to walk in and get my bibs quite easily. I picked up my 5K bib first and the nice volunteer saw that I had another confirmation sheet for the half marathon and went to go get my other bib. That’s the first time that’s ever happened to me at an expo and I was very appreciative! My mom picked up her 5K bib and then it was off to get the shirts. There was a bit of a wait for the shirts, but not too long, maybe around 5 minutes. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a t-shirt exchange available (if you want to change sizes) because I wanted to get a bigger size for the 5K shirt. I also noticed that there were no “goodies” in the bags that contained our shirts. Normally the bags include a few small items – snacks, etc. Right before exiting the expo, we picked up our free STM transit cards for the weekend. I received a transit card for both Saturday and Sunday (since I was doing the Remix Challenge). This was a great perk as the only way to get to the races was via transit.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Montreal 5K
The 5K took place in La Fontaine Park. The walk from the train station to the park took a little bit longer than expected (about 20 mins), so I’m glad that my mom and I left early enough to give ourselves some extra time! We arrived to the park around 8:00 am and quickly met up with my IG friend, Robin!
Before the race I noticed every runner’s dream – a long line of empty porta potties. Rock ‘n’ Roll definitely had enough porta potties for this race!
The weather was actually pretty great for the 5K – 70 degrees and sunny! For some odd reason I was in Corral 2 (I’m never that far up), so I knew there must have not been a lot of runners in the race, lol. We pretty much ran along the outside of the park and through some of the local streets. There was one point within the first mile where the course got a little cramped. I definitely had to slow down to a jog/fast walk as to not run into anyone. Other than that, the course was pretty open and only had one slight incline in the second half of the race. Overall it was a good run.
After crossing the finish line and receiving our medals, I was thrilled to see that we were handed bags to hold all our post-race goodies. Can I tell you how excited I was to see this?! I’m always struggling to hold items after a race so having a bag made this SO much easier!
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Some of the post-race goodies!
There were some great things in the finish area – a few food trucks, various vendors and a short beer line – all things that I love, haha.
After the race, we decided to explore Chinatown. Our hotel was located downtown so we were very close to this part of town.
After exploring, we settled at St Hubert for lunch. I had a really delicious grilled chicken sandwich and salad. It was so good, that we went back to the same restaurant for dinner the next night.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Montreal Half Marathon
Because of the extreme heat and humidity, the starting time for the half marathon was moved form 8:30am to 7:30am. Although this made for an early morning wake up call, I was thankful to start that early! This time I had to take two trains to get to the start line, but it wasn’t too bad at all and that part of the journey probably took around 15-20 minutes.
Runners in the train station
The longest part of the journey was the walk from the train station to the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. I felt like I was walking FOREVER and I probably walked 1-2 miles before even starting the race.
We had to walk all the way up there, and then keep walking to find our corrals!
I’m all for a good warm up walk before the start of a race but that was a bit much! Luckily I arrived in enough time to text my friend Janelle to FINALLY meet her in person! We have followed each other on IG for over a year and we even co-host a link up together, but have never met in person. Before the race, I met Janelle and her super nice fiancĆ©, Bret.
Janelle and I chatted for a while before it was finally time for us to take off. We ended up starting the race around 8:00am and we ran the first 3 miles together. This was super sweet of her because she’s way faster than me! Within the first mile I was sweating like crazy. The heat and humidity was already out in full force and I knew this was going to be a long race!
Sidenote: Because of the weather, I think there should have been water stations every mile. From what I can remember, the water stations were only every other mile, and sometimes longer. Luckily I ran with my handheld water bottle, but I did need to refill it halfway through the race. There were quite a few sprinkler and cooling stations on the race course and I definitely took advantage of that!
After departing the bridge, we entered St. Helena Island and Notre Dame Island. We then left the island and headed back toward downtown. The second half of the race included running into Old Montreal and a very odd water/banana stop. Yes, they gave out bananas and some of the peels were thrown right on the course. That was a very slow minute of running to make sure that I didn’t slip! After that we ran through Gay Village and it was so pretty with tons of different colors. It took my mind off of the heat for a few minutes.
This was also the part of the course where we hit a few hills. Hills are the last things you want to see in the last few miles of a race! I literally had no energy for this and ended up walking all the hills (no shame in my game). Finally we were near La Fontaine Park and I knew the end was in sight and I did my run/job to the finish.
It was a little chaotic after crossing the finish line. There were just SO many runners so it was hard to figure out where to go but luckily I was able to get my post-race bag of goodies and medals rather quickly.
All the bling bling!
I also met up with Janelle and Bret after the race and we talked a little bit about the course, the heat and another upcoming race, Rack ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn!
See you in Brooklyn!
This is totally unrelated to the race, and I went back and forth on whether to include this in my post, but I really wasn’t feeling the love in Montreal. I actually spoke to a few other runners and they all said the same exact thing. Don’t get me wrong, we had great interactions with some people in Montreal, but overall we found people to be quite rude. I’m not sure if it’s because we don’t speak French, or maybe they just didn’t appreciate a huge influx of runners coming in for the weekend, but it was really unexpected because so many of my friends and co-workers told me that people are super nice in Canada.
Besides all of that, I’m still super thankful that I got to experience my first international race and earn the World Rocker medal!
Congrats on your races! Thats too bad that you didnt have great interactions in Montreal but it definitely could have been because of the huge number of runners coming into town. It sounds like it was a smart decision for them to start the race earlier. How frustrating for the marathoners that their race was cancelled but at least they were given other options. Looks like a fun weekend!
Thanks Lisa! It was such a smart decision for them to start the race earlier. There were definitely parts of the course that were directly in the sun which made it so HOT!
First how cute is your mom?! Too bad it was so hot for you all that makes it so much more challenging for sure. You met Janelle how fun. I never think there are enough water stops either! Congrats to both of you
Awwe, thanks! I’ll let her know that you said that! The weather made everything pretty unbearable – I just wanted a bucket of ice to throw over my head, lol
So cool that you finally got to meet Janelle! I love meeting fellow bloggers in real life! I think that it’s weird that they cancelled the marathon. Yeah, I get that it was hot, but the runners had been training through the summer, so they should have been pretty well adapted. Maybe because Canada? Love all the empty portapotties. I’ll bet it didn’t look that way on Sunday, though!
Me too – I always enjoy meeting other bloggers in real life!
I feel that if they kept the marathon but moved it up to 7:30, some of the faster runners (sub-3), probably would have been okay, but for other runners, it would have been very hot and humid if they were still out on the course after 11:00 am.
I did the very first RnR Montreal. OMG, it was so cold on the bridge that day — but I much prefer that to the heat & humidity.
Canadians are super nice, but Montreal & Quebec especially are quite different. They can be nice, too, I have a friend here who is a native of Montreal (in fact we met up before the race, by accident!), and she is SUPER sweet. But they can be standoffish.
Those hills at the end are definitely tough. But running through Old Montreal is super cool!
Did you get the transit pass because of being a Rocknblogger? Cause we didn’t get them at that first race. Or goodie bags. But the expo was definitely underwhelming (and not many volunteers spoke English).
That’s good to know about Montreal and Quebec. If I ever go back to Canada, it will probably be to Toronto!
The hills at the end were brutal! The last hill at mile 12 was so steep – everyone was walking it, lol. This year all runners for the train passes. I think they may have started to provide the transit cards last year but I’m not 100% sure.
That world rocker medal is too cute! Congratulations on your races. It’s funny the things us runners get excited about….long row of port o potties and a bag to put our post race goodies in! I agree on more water stops especially since it was extra hot
I love the World Rocker medal – it’s one of my favs!
Sorry to hear people were rude to you! That’s a major bummer! But, I’m glad to hear that your first international racecation was generally a success, even if it was really flippin’ hot. š
Yeah it was definitely disappointing š It kind of put a negative cloud over the whole trip to be honest.
I love that your mom does some of your races with you! What memories!!! You certainly hauled in some nice bling from the weekend!
Yeah it’s really great. I enjoy doing races with her.
Congratulations on your races! It was great to finally meet you and I’m looking forward to Brooklyn! Montreal definitely wasn’t what I imagined, lol…but it was still a really cool experience. Next time Mother Nature needs to work in our favor!
Same to you and I’m so glad that we were finally able to meet! Just read your race recap and was nodding my head in agreement the whole time lol.
Hi from a fellow Rock n’ Blogger! I’d love to do this race!
Happy to connect with a fellow rock n blogger here!
That’s interesting you say that about the people in Montreal. I wonder why the snub.
So in your expert opinion, was it worth cancelling the full? Or was it doable?
While I think they could have had the marathon, they probably would have ended up having to cancel the race after a few hours due to the heat/humidity, so the middle of the pack/back of the pack runners may not have been able to finish. I think sub-3 finishers would have been hot but fine, anything after that could have been dangerous.
OMG, love your mom! And yeah for meeting Janelle! Boo on the heat and less-than-warm welcome. Maybe it’s the French influence – don’t Parisians have a reputation for being rude too? š
I think you’re right about that! I don’t plan on ever going back to that city, that’s for sure!
I had heard about them cancelling the marathon, wow!
Congrats! Those are seriously some great medals! Isn’t it funny that it took going out of the country to meet Janelle?
Haha you are so right about that!
SOunds like they should have done the marathon on the 5k day! I know that is an impossibility, but what a shame. A shame as well that your trip wasn’t as positive as you would have liked. Chicago and DC are so used to having races that we don’t think twice about it–I guess it really is different for Montreal! Congrats on getting through a hard race!
LOL if only they could have done that! I think you’re right about larger cities just being used to having multiple races, etc
Yay for being able to meet Janelle in person! She’s so sweet, isn’t she? Can’t wait to finally meet you in Chicago!
Janelle is such a sweetheart! So looking forward to meeting you next weekend!!
As much as it sucks for anyone signed up for the marathon, I’m glad RNR put safety first. It seems like they handled it well with all the options they provided for refunds.
I’m sorry Montreal wasn’t the nicest, but damn, look at all that bling you got! At least that’s happy and shiny!
Congrats on another fun race weekend!
Thanks Nicole! I really liked all the medals from the race!
Sorry your trip wasn’t as great as our thought it would, but that bling…..it’s pretty awesome.
Thanks Toni! The bling was the best part of the trip š
That bling is simply remarkable. Congrats on your race! Is Rack ānā Roll Brooklyn an annual event?
Thanks! I’ve don RnR Brooklyn once before.