Last weekend we traveled south to Antalya for the RunAtolia Marathon (formally known as Runtalya). Last year we flew down, but one of our friends has a car and invited us to ride with her. We left early on Saturday morning. It took us about 7 hours to make it to the coast. I really like getting to see the landscape of Turkey when we drive. So many mountains, and crops, and colors.

Antalya was sunny, in the mid 60’s, and gorgeous! We stopped by the race registration and then headed to our hotel. Our friend found an AMAZING deal through a travel agent for an all-inclusive stay at Akra Barut. It was one of the nicest places we’ve stayed at… and it was less than the price of a typical hotel in the States! Our stay included a huge buffet dinner on Saturday night, breakfast Sunday morning, and a shuttle to the race start.

We have another friend who swears by staying in a nice hotel the day before a race. We can understand why!

I loved that the hotel was right on the Mediterranean. Being near the sea is good for my soul.

Here was the view from the balcony of our room:

We had a great night’s rest before the race day. More on the marathon soon!