UKH

I am maybe possibly fantasising about entering a race in Italy, where they require (as do French races, so probably elsewhere too) a certificate of fitness from your doctor. How do these work - do you make up the wording yourself, or will a GP know what to write? And is it OK to provide your own translation?

I expect the answer varies from place to place and indeed race to race but it would be interesting to hear from anyone who has done this.

I nobbled an old school friend who's now a doctor. I don't have any medical problems, but I promised not to die anyway.

The other alternative I was looking into was booking a assessment in France. Most doctors do them for around 25€ apparently.

I live out in France and my partner/ various friends enter races with these requirements.  Consensus seem to be that it's a requirement that needs to be met, but not something that is rigorously checked- I.e. as long as you fake something that is at least half way convincing it's usually accepted by the race organisers!

There I was thinking this was another Suella Braverman initiative...

I’ve done a couple of races in France and the race website had a specific form you printed off and took to the doctor for them to sign. So you might want to check to see if your race has something similar. 

Ooh yes that would solve the problem, thanks.

I live in France and have done quite a few races - as part of my running club I get a licence which takes the place of the certificate (i just give the race my licence number) but every 3 years I need a real certificate from my doc. It seems ridiculous (eg. whatever happened to personal responsibility, and also  why put obstacles to people taking part in physical exercise?) but the French think we're the weird ones.

When I lived in the UK and raced in France I had to get one and most doctors (10 years ago mind) would freak out thinking they would get sued if I collapsed mid-race, suggesting in-depth scans (I've heard of people being forced to undergo full private medicals before their GP would sign).

In the end I got our company GP who visited the office every month to write one out. The wording basically needs to say that you 'show no contra-indications to running' - it doesn't say you're necessarily fine, just that there's no obvious impediment. I don't think the race organisers will look into it, in fact I don't think your doctor would give out any information anyway due to patient confidentiality. All they will look for is an official looking GP stamp (the official stamp is important and not as common in the UK) and a signature that looks like a dying spider crawled through some ink (so it look like a real doctor).

Although my UK sourced certificates were in English they were accepted in France. But best if your race organizer can offer one to download. 

Luckily, the certificate can be reused in multiple races and is valid for one year.

Good luck, with the admin and the race/training.

From memory my GP practice charges a standard (non trivial) fee for these. The only time I raced in France was alongside a doctor friend, which was handy.

Hi- son had to have one of these for ski racing in France. There should be a standard form from the race organiser (it will probably be in French I'm afraid- but you never know). It almost certainly won't be ok to do your own. There is just a possibility that they will want an ECG- which will be a pain to arrange and will cost to be done and then report. Unless you have a very kind GP they will charge- it isn't a standard NHS service. 

The race organiser usually provides a certificate which you can print off and get your doctor to sign. My doctor charges about £20 for completing this sort of paperwork and I don't need to see them unles it has been a long time since my last visit.

I have successfully used the same certificate for other races severl months after it was issued.

If you want to avoid the faff and expense it doesn't seem to be a requirement for Swiss races

When I used to run cross de mont blanc Chamonix, I just typed out a short document in French then paid my local GP to check me and sign it.  

I suppose that's kind of understandable if they'd never heard of one before, but it's really no different to a medical for boxing, diving or various other activities that are much more normal in the UK.

I had a routine medical to renew my HGV licence this year (though I'm not really sure why I bothered - haven't driven a lorry in years).  My GP has become pretty much impossible to communicate with so I didn't even try to organise an appointment with them this time, and in the end the check-up I had was slightly bizarre.  I found a little company that offers cheap check-ups for various things at weekends in lots of different towns - went along expecting to find a sub-contracted locum doctor in a rented room but it actually turned out to be a GP from Blackburn (I think) operating out of the back of a minimally converted van and driving all over the place with a mate every weekend. 

I wasn't particularly impressed when I saw the van, but as it turned out he was friendly, efficient and the check-up was really no more pointless than the previous one I paid my GP a hundred quid for.  Rudimentary eye test, blood pressure, quick listen to the heart, medical history questionnaire bish bash bosh done - rubber stamp on the form.  No idea if he was moonlighting or had escaped from general practice and found a relatively stress-free way to make a living but good luck to him.

I see the OP's profile says Reading, if she was based anywhere between Liverpool and Hull (more or less) I'd cheerfully recommend that guy.

Thank you all very much there's a mine of hand info there, and the answer seems to be for me to dig a bit deeper into the race info and find a form to print off. The languages are not a problem.

Whether I actually do this of course is another matter, it feels like travelling to Italy for a race is a big deal, and my sofa is so cosy...

Friends of ours came over to do the lyon half marathon this year, a few faked the certs and had them accepted, others .anaged to get their doctors do sign one for peace of mind.