Event: Switzerland - Geneva

Course de L'Escalade

When:	1 Dec 2007 (annual)
Where:	Old Town
Opening Hours:	Races start every 10-15 minutes from around 10am

The Course de L'Escalade fun run through Geneva's Old Town takes in some of the city's finest historical sights, in an event which serves as a warm-up to the Escalade weekend later in the month.

Around 18,000 enthusiastic runners wind their way through the narrow streets of the Old Town, finishing at the beautiful Parc des Bastions. During the afternoon, people of all ages run distances ranging from 2km-8km. Some participants are world-class athletes, while others have only practiced for a few weeks - there is something to suit all abilities.

Although this is not a competition in the strictest sense, participants wear elaborate costumes in the hope of standing out from the crowds, which provides an amusing spectacle for the onlookers that line the streets.

At the end of the day, after a special 3.4km run, as darkness descends and burning torches bring a medieval atmosphere to the city, the runners engage in another typically Genevoise tradition - smashing chocolate cooking pots (La Marmite).

The race was instigated by the athletic Club Stade Geneve and, like the Escalade weekend, commemorates the historical victory of the city of Geneva in 1602 over its neighbour, the duc Charles-Emmanuel de Savoie.