How to Prepare for Marseille-Cassis?

Preparing for Marseille-Cassis: What Does the Course Really Look Like? ⛰️

Before stacking up training sessions, read the profile. The Marseille-Cassis lines up 20 km of road running and 340 mD+ between two cities, a city-to-city format that forgives no approximation. The start fires off at 9 a.m. on boulevard Michelet, at the foot of the Stade Vélodrome 🏟️. The first five kilometers race toward the Mazargues obelisk and then the Luminy campus: a fast, flowing section, perfect for getting carried away and paying for it dearly an hour later. Then the road climbs for 5 km up to the Col de la Gineste, perched at 327 m at km 10. Steady gradients, little shade, a plunging view over the Calanques National Park: this is the morning's decisive test.

The final shift offers no respite. Ten downhill kilometers via Carpiagne bring you to avenue des Albizzi, in Cassis, amid the vineyards. The organizers even warn that the descent stings as much as the climb 📉. Your quads will sign the petition.

How to Train to Tame the Gineste? 🦵

Plan on 8 to 10 weeks of specific preparation, with three or four outings per week. The prerequisite: being able to hold 1h30 at easy endurance pace without checking your watch every two minutes.

Hills, Your New Best Friends

One session per week is run uphill: repetitions of 2 to 4 min at a sustained pace, jogging back down to recover. At the end of the cycle, slip 15 to 20 min of continuous climbing into your long run to simulate the Gineste. No hills near you? An inclined treadmill or a stadium's stands will do the job perfectly.

Downhill, the Forgotten Part of Training Plans

A classic mistake: betting everything on the climb. On the descent, the quadriceps work in eccentric contraction, the kind that produces Monday's soreness. Add downhill sections at a controlled pace to your long runs, plus two strengthening sessions per week (squats, lunges, wall sits).

Pacing, or the Art of Not Blowing Up

Put your flat 20 km time away in the closet ⏱️ . Start at half-marathon pace until Luminy, climb the Gineste by feel rather than by the clock, then loosen your stride on the descent, torso leaning slightly forward.

To gauge the gap with the elite, keep the race record in mind: 57’18” set by Edwin Kipyego in 2015, which is under 2’52” per kilometer with a pass in the middle 🏆 . More recently, Félix Bour brought the victory back to the French camp in 2021 in 1h01'55".

D-2 to Race Day: What Logistics to Finish Marseille-Cassis? 🎒

Bib pickup takes place at the Parc Chanot on Friday, October 23 (10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.) and Saturday, October 24 (9 a.m. to 8 p.m.). On Sunday morning, free shuttles run from 6 to 8 a.m. from Cassis and from Aubagne, the option recommended by the organizers 🚌 . Note that in Aubagne, the cloakroom drop-off becomes mandatory from 7:15 a.m. In Marseille, the baggage check opens on rue Raymond Teisseire from 6:45 to 8 a.m., and you pick up your bag at the finish. The start pens leave every 5 min: wave 1 for the elites and 1h20 to 1h30 goals, wave 2 for 1h45, then the general public. As for fuel, you'll find aid stations at Luminy (km 5), at the Col de la Gineste (km 10), at Bois Joli (km 15) and at the finish 💧 . One last landmark: the cut-off times give you 1h30 to cross the Gineste and 3h for the whole course, counted from the start of the last wave. Your loved ones can follow your race live before waiting for you at the aperitif. The Marseille-Cassis - AG2R La Mondiale holds a World Athletics Silver Label, a guarantee of a well-run organization for this classic among the races in October.

Hills on Tuesday, downhill on the weekend, patience at the foot of the Gineste: the recipe fits in three lines, the execution takes ten weeks. On October 25, more than 18,000 runners will head back up the Calanques road toward the sea. No bib yet? Take a look at the offers on the race page, or find your next target around Marseille and the Bouches-du-Rhône. See you at the finish line 🏁 !