2001 Quebec City Marathon des Deux Rives  Oui, je me souvien
December 1, 2001  Great marathon courses do more than isolate
26.2 miles of asphalt to be covered on foot—they highlight, in
one morning's run, the character of a particular spot on this
earth. The Quebec City Marathon, or Marathon des Deux Rives (Two
Banks) as it is known locally, does just that for this city
perched on the banks of the mighty St. Lawrence, where, even
amid the European chic of "North America’s Champs-Elysées," the
presence of the river, and the wild, natural world it
represents, is never very far away. The course provides both one
of marathoning’s most memorable beginnings—an early morning
ferry ride across the river under the gaze of the Citadel—and
endings—on a dock in picturesque Petit Champlain below the
Château Frontenac.  What the course doesn’t include is a tour of
this only fortified city in North America, as that would require
a climb at mile 24 that would make Heartbreak look like a speed
bump. That tour is provided in