The trip

This was a very unique trip and often what I refer to as one of the best marathons on the list. It was also the first trip (excluding Brighton) that didn't require any time off work.

We flew from London City Airport for the first time on a turboprop with Luxair. A great experience all round really. An incredibly simple airport to get through and a great service from the airline. Once we were out of the airport, the good service continued with free trams into the city centre. Luxembourg being an incredibly wealthy country has its perks. We checked into our hotel on Place D'Armes and I had a very rare nap as this marathon was to start at 7pm.

The race

This was the first evening marathon (and as of April 2026, stil the only) that I'd done and I wasn't sure what to expect. The start and finish line was at LuxExpo, back in the direction of the airport. After a bit of food and stretching, I was back on the free tram to the start line. The sun was still well and truly in the sky when we set off and the whole start area had a really good feeling to it. The first few miles weren't too noteworthy as we largely just headed down one of the main roads towards the city centre again. I was now very familiar with the Pont Grande-Duchesse Charlotte bridge.

However, the race only continued to improve as the sun set. The atmosphere was immense due to the combination of the night time excitement (likely aided by a few beers for a lot of the crowd), the loud music, the dense route and the tight paths with supporters almost on top of you.

The route was the most snake-like I've ever seen. If you've ever been to Luxembourg, you'll know how split it is across different elevation levels and the marathon route made the most of this too. Hills in a run are usually your worst nightmare but they were welcome here. We went up and down steep hills, crossed rivers, followed rivers, went through parks and paced through the busy streets. The main middle section of the run was about as entertaining as a marathon can be. It might not be the best if you're going for a PB but luckily I wasn't.

The end of the race was back across the main bridge and a slightly indirect route back to LuxExpo to make it to 26.2. There was a tree-lined path that we followed for about a mile which was poorly lit and far from the atmosphere of the city centre. If crime rates were higher in Luxembourg then I would have been worried for my saftey but thankfully that wasn't the case. The atmosphere came back though for the indoor finish line. I was terribly tired but had enough energy to get across the line.

The fun ended though as soon as the journey back began. I was back on the tram again but this time it was absolutely rammed. I was very quickly stuck in the corner with barely any room to breath, nothing to hold onto and just the wall to lean my head against. I started to feel horribly sick and had to get off a few stops early for some fresh air. I leant over a bridge wall to let myself throw up but it never came. A few minutes later I was feeling good enough to walk and headed back to the hotel to call it a night. The next day we explored the city in the daylight with the general don't pay to enter anywhere and keep moving approach. We had a nice lunch and were quickly on our way back to the airport.