Course de L'Escalade

It's that time of year again, time for the Fête de l’Escalade -- Geneva’s independence celebration, which commemorates the city’s victory over the Duke of Savoy’s troops in 1602.

A big part of the festivities is the huge foot race, called the Course de L'Escalade, through Geneva's Old Town. It's a bit like the Bay to Breakers, there are lots of serious runners, but lots of people dress up too. We were crazy enough to sign up and joined over 18,000 other enthusiastic runners for the big race.

We wound our way through the narrow streets of the Old Town (which is full of VERY steep hills by the way) and I'm happy to say we both finished with a respectable time. We ran in separate races (my race was 5km and his was 7.25km) and poor G had to run in the dark and then it started to rain! The streets in the Old Town are cobble stone, so it got pretty slippery for the runners (one guy slid right into me as I was waiting for G to come down the final hill). It was freezing, but I stayed and cheered him on until the very end!

My favorite l’Escalade tradition is eating Swiss chocolate pots (Marmite d’Escalade) bearing the city’s coat of arms in red and gold and adorned with marzipan ‘vegetables’. These represent sweet reminders of the cauldron of boiling vegetable soup that Mère Royaume poured over the city wall to keep the French at bay and bring victory to Geneva. The festival is a colorful affair. People celebrate with a big parade, dressing up in 17th-century dress, and eating big feasts with plenty of vegetable soup.


The official car of the Course de L'Escalade


Getting ready for my race


G before his big race


G's race