Guess what? I went to Budapest! As in the capital of Hungary! Truth be told, it was even more amazing than I expected it to be. The city is so unique and there is a ton to see. Three truths about vacations:

• The best way to see a new city is on foot
• The best and fastest way to see a new city is by running
• No vacation is complete without a race of some kind

Therefore, it was inevitable that we would sign up to run the Budapest Half Marathon.

Before we made our way to Budapest, we spent some time in the small Italian city of Bergamo and Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia and about the size of Grand Rapids. Needless to say, when we arrived in Budapest we were completely overwhelmed.

The city is gigantic and although we did eventually find our AirBnB (I had my doubts), we were a bit intimidated by Budapest. Frankly, we became complete chickens and didn’t want to leave our apartment.

However, we paid good money for the Budapest Half and darn it to heck, we were going to run it. Best decision ever. After that, we had the confidence to actually go places. The end result was a what I assume was a much better vacation than staying cooped up in our apartment.

So in case you ever find yourself in the exotic land of Budapest, here are all the details you need to know about their annual half marathon.

What: The 32nd Wizz Air Budapest Half Marathon. There was also an option for a three-person relay team. The race is large with nearly 11,000 participants.

When: September 10, 2017 (This race happens annually in September. The Budapest Marathon is in October). Start time 9:00 AM *Note: Budapest is six hours ahead of us Eastern Time Zone folks.

Where: Budapest, Hungary. The expo, start, and finish are all in the Budapest City Park.

Who: Sponsored by Wizz Air (a budget airline company). There was also a very strong Decathlon presence at the expo and during the race (an international sporting goods store)

Expo

The expo was easy to find, located in Budapest’s City Park. It was also easy to navigate. The race directors love international runners. Which is great news for us, since the volunteers spoke English. Each runner needed to bring their confirmation email to the expo. Before leaving with your number, there is an extra step where your race number is scanned to make sure it’s working and all your information is correct. I thought that was a nice touch. The starting/finish line is already set up during the expo, which really sets an exciting mood and gives you a chance to get a feel for how you will start and finish the next day.

The course

Sometimes in big city races, it feels like only a small amount of the race is devoted to the actual city and the rest winds through neighborhoods and surrounding trails. I understand why it needs to be done, but it can be kind of a bummer to only have a few interesting miles to look forward to. This was not the case with the Budapest Half Marathon. The entire course was captivating. We ran down main streets, over the iconic chain bridge, through a tunnel, past hero’s square, and on the bank of the Danube River. We saw Parliment, the Buda Castle, the House of Terror, and so much more. Every mile (er, kilometer…) was fascinating with very little overlap. Also, there were live bands along the course which totally made my day.

The course is a bit hilly, but nothing too terrible. There are plenty of downhills to make up for the uphills. Trust me when I say they could have made it much, much worse. Budapest is one hilly city. Also, I know this isn’t cool to say since I’m an American and all, but I actually found myself enjoying the kilometer markers. It’s typical to celebrate a bit for reaching a mile marker. In this case, I just got to celebrate more! Plus I really do feel that by marking my progress in those increments, it made the time go by faster.

My one word of warning (not a complaint, because there’s not really much that can be done about this sort of thing): The streets are old. Some streets are even cobblestone. I am extraordinarily clumsy, so I tripped on cracks and surprising bumps in the road a few times. Just take a little extra precaution to watch your step.

Aid stations

The aid stations were plentiful and well-staffed. The volunteers were friendly and helpful. Before the race, they made a big deal warning people that they might have to grab their own drinks off the table because of a number of people running. I didn’t have that problem. They ran the aid stations smoothly and there was very little congestion, including the areas with relay hand-offs. In the second half of the race, they also had strangely colored energy drinks (which I didn’t try) and slices of banana. Sponges were included in our pre-race goodie bags. Many people carried their sponge and dunked it in buckets of cold water set up right before the aid stations. There were also misters and sprinklers at many of the aid stations, adding a nice touch to the 85-degree day.

Awards

Each finisher received a good quality finisher’s medal, including the participants of the relay. Many elite runners run this race, so I’m assuming there’s a cash prize.

Goodies

The goodies were plentiful. Unfortunately, the plentiful goodies weren’t things I was used to. The pre-race bag came with a helpful guidebook to the city and the half marathon. There was also the sponge, an energy tablet, several flyers, and a tiny protein bar that somehow contained 20 grams of protein. The tech t-shirt they gave us was good quality and followed standard sizing. After the race, we were handed a GIANT bottle of water, an apple, some sort of fruit-flavored beverage, and a bag of snacks. The bag contained wet wipes (actually super helpful), a banana-flavored granola bar, banana flavored chocolate candy, chocolate wafer cookies, and a package of salami. I was only feeling adventurous enough for the cookies, which did not disappoint!

Pros

The Budapest Half Marathon was extremely well-organized. Everything from the expo to the post-race goodie bags was flawlessly executed. The race directors clearly knew what they were doing. Plenty of porta-potties (they even had portable urinals!), aid stations, volunteers, etc.

The course was one of the best I have ever run. It was exciting, engaging, and really showed the city in all its glory. From start to finish, the race directors wanted all their runners excited, domestic and international. They played loud, upbeat music before the race from Hungarian and American artists. Two announcers to pump up the runners in the corrals, one speaking Hungarian, the other speaking English. There was even a live band playing as runners crossed the starting line and live (as well as talented) bands all along the course. The crowds were plentiful and full of encouragement (even though I had no idea what they were saying). This race not only gave us the confidence we needed to explore the city, it made us super excited to be there.

Another perk: the race finishes steps away from one of the most popular thermal baths in Budapest. A perfect place to soak your legs after the race.

Cons

I really don’t have cons for this race. Better post-race snacks? One thing, actually. In the race packet, a 2 hour and 30-minute time limit was mentioned. Runners out past that point would be pulled off the course. I thought this was a bit extreme, 2 hours and 30 minutes is a pretty rough cut-off time! I wish they would have started an hour earlier not only for the time limit but also because of the heat. However, I’m no race director and I’m sure they had their reasons for starting when they did.

Overall thoughts

We paid about $80 for this race and for what we got, I can say with confidence that it was an excellent value. Jackson and I both agree that it was easily one of our favorite parts of the trip, if not the best part. We loved every minute of the race, which is saying a lot because I was injured and it was 85 degrees out. We felt like we had found our safe haven thousands of miles away from home. There was such a powerful comfort in that, especially after feeling so uneasy in such a big, foreign city. But once we found our people (runners) doing what we know and love (running), we knew everything was going to be okay.