Werrington Joggers

Race Report - Valencia Marathon

Debbie Montague 20/12/2018
Flat and science-y

 Sunday December 2nd, 2018

Debbie Montague

The Friday before race day myself and a friend set out from our Hotel and headed for the race expo.  We were staying outside the main centre of Valencia, but the metro system there is superb and relatively cheap (around £12 for 2 day pass).  A few stops on the metro and a short walk bought us to ‘Science City’ with its very futuristic architecture.  I must admit I was totally blown away by the buildings here that house various museums and the parkland that surrounds it.

        

Outside the Science museum where a couple of running stalls, a chance to have a photo with what would be the medal and a list of all the runners taking part.  I was a bit disappointed as my name was split over a couple of lines but, unlike Paris, it was in alphabetical order so pretty easy to find this time.  First stop upstairs to collect my race number and to activate the chip.  Then back downstairs to the expo where you collected your main goody bag and t-shirt.  Vest for the ladies and t-shirt for the men.  Little disappointed with the rest of the expo though, not as big as London or Paris.

     

Along with the marathon itself on the Saturday morning there is (for a fee) a ‘Breakfast’ run, which is a very laid back 5k but I didn’t take part this year.  Instead opting for a lay in and a leisurely day doing a bit of sight-seeing.  As with Paris, there were also a number of activities and races for the children to take part in too.  But again as my son hadn’t come with me I decided to give the Expo area a miss on the Saturday.  From what I heard afterwards am glad I did as it was rather busy.  The only thing I did miss out on which I wish I had gone to was a free paella party for all runners that is held between 1 and 3pm.

The marathon organisers had arranged for coaches to pick up runners and their families from hotels that were further out, saving us having to organise our own way there and back.  But that did leave at 6.30 in the morning.  Bearing in mind that Spain is an hour ahead of the UK that was ridiculously early.  But the hotel were very good and ensured they had a full breakfast service ready for us from 5.45 to give time to eat and drink before we needed to leave.

 

Once at Science City, I felt the marathon let itself down.  There wasn’t really anywhere for people to go or hangout, apart from round the Science buildings.  Although much warmer than the UK, at that time in the morning it was rather chilly.  It was more the supporters I felt sorry for.  Nowhere to keep warm or even get a coffee.  There were a number of porta loos set-up for use, but as with any big event the queues quickly become quite large.

 

22k runners were registered for the marathon and at the same time there was a 10k heading off with another 13k of runners.  What was really nice was the amount of friends/families where 1 was taking part in the marathon and the other tackling the 10k.  The start for both races was around a 5-10 minute walk from Science City and the marathon was sectioned off into pens dependant on your predicted finish time.  Start times ranged from 8:30 for the elite runners through to 8:55 for the last group.  Have to say, unlike Paris, Valencia let themselves down a little here.  The starting pens were not big enough to hold all of the runners for my group and the whole street and pavement were crammed full of waiting runners, plus family and friends.  It got quite congested.  Only once other groups had started and the runners could start moving down to the start line did we get the chance to move into our pen.

To help runners to get the times they are after there were 12 pacers, ranging from 3 hours to 5 hours.

 

The start itself is on a bridge which runs across the Science Park.  1 of the carriageways was set up for the marathon, the other for the 10k.  The runners then split off into the different routes.

 

The course itself was on road and very flat.  It wasn’t as scenic as Paris, most of it running through built up areas.  From the start we headed off out to the coast and marina, through the university area, to the old city where we did get to see a few more of the historic buildings, then back down towards the start. Around 1km from the finish the road surface changes to cobbles, which is not overly pleasant on tired legs, but as such a short distance it’s manageable.  For me the real attraction was the finish and not just cos I was tired and wanted it over lol.  For the finish you run along through Science City and the amazing buildings that are there.  The last few hundred yards on a specially made pontoon that has been set up on the water between the museums.  That last section really made it for me, especially as they had set up a grandstand viewing area for friends and family to cheer.  Made my day to hear my friend shout out to me at that point!

 

 

Have to say that unlike Paris, this marathon is really well supported all the way round and every few kilometres there were bands, school children all dressed up and other community groups really making the day something special.  Although at times their choice in music was rather questionable…in hysterics at one point trying to run along to the Benny Hill music J  Oh and they do like Queen a lot out there.

 

Around every 5k there are water stops, the stations are only on one side of the road and the drinks are in bottle, which although there are bins (with big targets on so you can throw the bottle at them) you still had to watch where you put your feet.  They also had cups with Powerade if you wanted it.  I must admit I didn’t notice any food at these stations, however a 2 points later in the race they were handing out gels.  I didn’t have any as they weren’t the brand I normally use and didn’t want to risk it.  Unfortunately, for the next half a kilometre or so after the gel station you squelched along as gel wrappers had just been dropped and gel now stuck to your trainers.

 

A real let down was the lack of toilets on route.  They did have a few before some of the water stops, but not all and not many actual porta loos at the stops meaning that there were queues.  In fact at around 20 miles I had to dash into a bar that we were running past to use their facilities and I wasn’t the only one.

 

The weather was warm at around 18-20 however I found it quite pleasant it didn’t have the heat in it that we had earlier in the year at London/Paris/Milton Keynes.  I did nearer the end of the race empty the water bottle from the stops over my head to cool down a little, but as I say nothing compared to the temperatures we saw in April time.

 

At the finish you got another smaller goody bag with your medal, some snacks, water and a bag of oranges.  Which bizarre as it was, they were the best tasting oranges I’ve had in a long time.  We’d already got our t-shirt at the expo when we picked up our race number.

 

We didn’t hang around long after the finish of the race as we needed to get the coach back to the hotel.  However I did manage to find the engraving stall and got my name and time engraved on the back of my medal.

 

As it was chipped time, the results were available straight away on both the website and the app.  Photos were available within a couple of days.  But was a little disappointed as the photo for going across the line was taken from above the finish, I would have preferred something a little closer so you can actually see it’s me.  Like Paris there were also videos recorded at certain stages throughout the race.

 

Good points –

 

Bad points

 

Would I do it again…yes most definitely!!!  Valencia is a lovely city to visit marathon or not, easy to get around, plenty to do and even at this time of the year the temperature is nice and warm.  Think next time though I will probably stay closer to the start of the marathon so I can make the most of the post-run atmosphere.

 

 

Some Stats

REGISTRATIONS

Number registered

22 000 marathon + 300 Elite

%

Women

3,740

17%

Men

18,260

83%

Spanish

14,000

65%

Foreigners

8,000

35%

PARTICIPANTS by country

Countries

Number of participants

%

Spain

14,000

65%

Italy

2,039

9.26%

France

1,430

6.5%

UK

980

4.45%

Belgium

753

3.42%

Holland

691

3.14%

Germany

308

1.4%

Portugal

308

1.4%

Sweden

164

0.74%

Poland

138

0.63%

Other

164

3.06%

20 nationalities were represented

 

THE RACE IN NUMBERS

The Race

 

Fun Facts