Bordeaux Marathon 2026: the home stretch to November 8, workout by workout on your Garmin

A morning marathon across both banks of Bordeaux

The start is at 8 a.m. on Cours de Verdun, near the Jardin Public, in waves until 8:09 a.m. based on your target time. According to the organizer, the course uses both banks of Bordeaux without running the same loop twice, on roads closed to traffic. The time limit is 5 hours 30 minutes, counted from when the last runner crosses the start line; beyond that, the sweep car collects bibs.

Aid stations every 5 km (3.1 miles) and at the finish, pacers from 3:00 to 4:30: find the one for your goal in your corral. The GPX track can be downloaded from the official website; look through it once before the race so you know where you switch banks.

Three workouts for the final days

Ten days out, pushing harder gains nothing: volume drops, marathon pace stays. These three workouts come from the taper of the Running Workout marathon plan; your AI assistant can build them at your paces and send them to your watch, on the right day of your Garmin Connect calendar.

• — Weekend of October 31: a short, easy long run of 75 minutes, so your legs recharge.
• — Tuesday, November 3 or Wednesday, November 4: 2 × 1.2 miles at marathon pace, 2 minutes recovery, a last pace reminder before the start.
• — Saturday, November 7: a 20-minute shakeout, with the plan's race workout loaded on your watch for the next day: first 2 miles at goal pace plus 15 seconds per mile, then steady.

What the assistant does between now and November 8

For November 8, a 12-week plan started on Monday, August 17: training ran through the summer and into September. If you followed another program, or nothing in particular, the assistant starts from what Garmin recorded: your runs from recent weeks, their volume and your training load.

A week missed just before the taper can't be made up: it keeps the pace reminders, lightens the rest and puts each workout on the right day. After the race, it reads your marathon lap by lap (pace, heart rate) and suggests a few easy recovery runs. For the next edition, once its date is announced, the full 12-week plan will be set to it.

Bib pickup and race day

Bibs are collected at the race village, Hangar 14, 115 quai des Chartrons: Friday, November 6 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday, November 7 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. No bibs are handed out on race day. You need photo ID and a complete online file, including the French PPS health check or a license. On Sunday, the bag drop at the start area opens 90 minutes before the race and closes 15 minutes before; get into your corral at least 10 minutes before your wave.

Frequently asked questions