2025 marks 30 years that Vicenza is twinned with Annecy, in France, so various events have been organised to commemorate this anniversary, including the weekend of the marathon and other running events.

Our local running club ATLETICA VICENTINA enrolled its runners in the Marathon du Lac, the 21km and 10km races.

This time the WAGs (wives and girlfriends) like me were also allowed to come along and I can tell you now it was great to be part of the warm and welcoming Atletica Vicentina family for a weekend.

We talked, we laughed, cheered and clapped, sang out of tune, spoke English, Italian, French and Vicentino dialect and got to know each other better.

To top it all, Annecy is one of the most picturesque towns in France. It’s in the Haute-Savoie region of the French Alps, not far from Switzerland and it sits on a beautiful lake with mountains all around.

There is plenty to do here if you love sport or just being outdoors. The cycle path around the lake is 45km long. There is a huge green area for picnics and playing games and the lake itself has paddle boats for hire, or you can go for a boat ride on the water. At any moment there were people of all ages doing stuff. A really cool place to live.

Friday

6am departure start on Friday 25 April, coach to Annecy from Vicenza with Atletica Vicentina running club. Journey of 542 km with our jolly and patient driver, Renzo, at the wheel.

It’s dark and raining when we set off and you might think that everyone would just like to curl up in their seat and wait out the next few hours until coffee time…

But not these athletes. As I will realise over the next few days in their company, they have apparently limitless energy and stamina.

During the trip they discussed everything to do with running and in particular with improving your PB (personal best), finding the ideal shoes, suffering various injuries along the way, in general analysing what works/doesn’t work, what to eat, when to eat… and the list goes on.

Sleep: Néaclub Les Balcons Du Lac, Annecy, France

Our stay for two nights was in this big hotel complex about 20 minutes’ drive from Annecy up a winding road which crossed over an old and narrow stone bridge- at which point everyone held their breath and blessed Renzo for his skilful driving.

The rooms here were small but the communal spaces were larger and more recently decorated in a cosy alpine style.

Bib Pick up

We went to the Marathon Village on the wide grass area called Le Pâquier, right in front of Lake Annecy. The runners picked up their racing bibs, which were given out just like that- no envelope and no safety pins either. Good to know for next time.

Le Monaco at Brasserie les Retrouvailles, 17 rue du Paquet

It was apéritif time and we had a typical light drink called a Monaco. Made with beer, lemonade and grenadine syrup (made with red fruits). Where does this name come from? Could be because it contains the same colours, red and white, as the flag of the principality of Monaco in the south of France.

Then it was back to the hotel for dinner and an early night as the 21km runners had to be up for breakfast at 5:30am.

Saturday

The WAGs and 10km and 42km who were running on Sunday, could take a late breakfast and then arrive in Annecy to cheer on the 21km runners. It was sunny in Annecy, there was a great atmosphere, a cool jazz band was playing in the park and the course was lined with spectators.

The AV runners have an official orange running vest that they are obliged to wear during races, which makes them easy to spot during an event. I think we did our best to cheer them on, in fact I’d lost my voice by the end of the weekend.

Race over and changed into the beautiful blue finisher running shirt, the team went back to the hotel for lunch. We were excited to see that the winner of that morning’s race was also staying at our place. I asked him if he would be so kind as to take a selfie with us….and here he is: Joseph Koech from Kenya, who did the 21km in 1:03:16.

Guided Tour of Annecy with Denis

The most famous landmark is the former medieval castle and prison, now a museum, which sits on a rocky island in the middle of the Thiou canal. But beyond this there is the rest of the town, made up of tall and colourful but faded buildings pushed together, more canals and pretty bridges decorated with flower boxes- and as many bars and restaurants and cute shops as you could wish for.

Denis acknowledged that Vicenza certainly has more to offer in the way of historical treasures (and I agree because I’ve written many blogs about them) but, Annecy has many charms of its own, beginning with the lake.

He told us, and this seems incredible to us now, that back in the 50s the lake was so polluted with river traffic and waste water from the town that the mayor took measures to clean up the river once and for all. He really was a visionary.

Now it is ranked as the cleanest lake in Europe. On a sunny day the water is
crystal clear and shimmers emerald green like the Mediterranean Sea. Even
the drinking water served locally is also from the lake.

Meeting with the Local Council

Another plus to this great weekend: to celebrate the 30 years of being twin towns, there was an exchange of kind words and gifts between representatives of the local government and the AV organisers.

Alpine Street Food

It’s not easy to find a place to eat for ten or more people without a reservation, especially when every place is so popular and so busy. So we opted for street food and got a grilled baguette sandwich with raclette cheese and ham. It was tasty and the company was good.

The end of another long day. We returned to the hotel. Over the scary bridge. In the dark this time so we couldn’t see the sheer drop on either side.

While waiting for the lift to arrive from the bar area, someone decided to give the karaoke a try and after a few wrong starts, we sang something that sounded good to us.

Sunday

Race day for the Marathon runners and 10km and the streets were even busier with supporters. We found ourselves a great spot near the finish line and cheered…everyone, including first place Simion Kameto from Kenya who finished in 2:18:43.

Cheese shopping at the local market

Denis told us that Annecy Old Town is a traffic free zone and so to make shopping easier for the locals that live in the centre, you can find regular produce markets.

We stopped off at a cheese stall which offered us some samples and set off a shopping surge among the Italians. There are many local star cheeses. Our favourites for next time you’re in the Alps are:

• Reblochon
• Tomme de chèvre
• Beaufort
• Tomme de Savoie

All of these can be eaten just as they are, on their own on a cheese plate and served in small portions at room temperature.

Lunch at Le Freti in 12 rue Sainte-Claire

A visit to France is a gourmet moment as there is a wealth of variety of great local produce and many traditional dishes which have been made for generations. Here in Annecy the food scene is Alpine, so Swiss and French.

At Le Fréti, we sat under the old stone arches outside and tried two local specialities: the famous fondue of melted cheese and wine served in a cast iron pan and the traditional tartiflette of melted Reblochon cheese over potatoes and bacon bits.

Typical cold weather dishes after you’ve been skiing. For us sat outside there was a cold alpine wind blowing so that created the right atmosphere.

Return to Italy

After lunch we started the trip back home. The marathon runners generously declined a hot shower at the hotel so that we could get back to Vicenza by 10pm.

What to say? I had a great weekend. Thanks to everyone who made this happen from the organisers to the runners and the WAGs and others. You know who you are.

Mr Casa Alison has truly found his tribe. Other obsessed runners like himself who are so fabulously fit and healthy. Bravi!