Agree totally with cdcdoc, did Zurich this year and support is somewhat limited. If you really fancy running out to Meilen and back, by all means go for it!
Ran Paris a few years ago and would recommend this over Zurich any day.
Luzern HM was my first distance event and I remember thinking it must be soul destroying to go and repeat it for the full distance
There's a climb (from memory about 6km in) that isn't on the height profile. I noticed it, a decent club runner I know noticed it and a friend who did it the following year did too.
Zürich is flat and fast. I did the HM this year. It's not a particularly exciting course and not a huge amount of atmosphere. The weather can be extremely variable at that time of year too. It's good for a PB and I'll probably do it again next year.
Out of your choices I'd probably take Manchester. It's supposed to have a great atmosphere and you can mentally prepare yourself for the fact that it will be raining
Yes it is but much easier to get a place than London for example. I got a place with RTL lottery for Berlin which is separate and offer 1000 starting places. It costs extra but believe me Berlin is awesome!
Luzern is running twice the course...me personally I could never do that...but the half is beautiful. Valencia is beautiful and flat but in December. There are not many good ones in Spring...most of them are in the fall.
It is worth investing in your first marathon...I did my first in 2019 in Berlin and it is still special and brings emotions every time I mention it
Only in Switzerland but if you have an agency in almost any other country it is not that bad...many times you get to pay for the bib and a choice either for plane ticket or hotel...and for certain marathons like New York for example it is almost the only way.
I am running London this year for a UK charity so you have this option as well.
£2000 is a lot for a marathon place though, and I don't like asking friends and family to fund my run.
I failed in the lottery for London this year. I think I might enter Zürich, then start entering ballots for London and Berlin. I wonder what Vienna is like? I am nervous to spend a lot of money when I don't know if I would even finish... I have a family member who is a decent runner, and they failed to finish London twice.
If you do a proper marathon training, then the only thing which could keep you from finishing are forces which could keep anyone from finishing: terrible weather conditions or injury/sickness.
My first marathon was my slowest marathon, but I'm glad it was a big one for the memories. I entered via lottery, peer pressured by my friends, having zero intention of getting in and having to train for it.