THE UNPREPARED RUNNER’S GUIDE TO THE VALENCIA MARATHON

THE UNPREPARED RUNNER’S GUIDE TO THE VALENCIA MARATHON

THE UNPREPARED RUNNER'S GUIDE TO THE VALENCIA MARATHON: Mediterranean Travel
Valencia Marathon Finish Area

INTRODUCTION- VALENCIA MARATHON

Marathon on the Mediterranean: If you have been following developments in the world of marathoning over the last few years then you know that Valencia, Spain, is “THE” place to go, to set your personal best, with the race attracting world-class marathoners from around the world. This race is one of the best in the world, with a beautiful flat course perfect for setting world, national, and personal records. The organization is second to none and the caliber of the running field is one of the best in the world. Last year when considering what my New Year’s resolution would be, I decided to give the Valencia Marathon a shot. I had run a few marathons in my younger days and was even a member of my university’s varsity team for 4 years. However it had been almost 30 years since the last race (Spoiler Alert: I did not set a PB but I did leave with a finish medal and an embarrassing story –  more on that later). 

Bucket List

I’ve always wanted to run a marathon somewhere along the Mediterranean and at 59 I finally decided to follow through on this bucket list idea. If you’re middle-aged and have also toyed with the idea of running a “destination” marathon then this article is for you. Sure you could sign up for a run close to home, but if you’re going to commit to this unique challenge, why not do it in style and go somewhere different, somewhere far away, and somewhere FAST.

So, after about a 25-year break since my last marathon, I decided to finally run another one. I had the idea in the back of my mind for a lot of years but just kept putting it off. Then more recently, as I slowly approached 59, I realized that I probably shouldn’t put it off any longer. I’d been jogging/running throughout this whole time, with periods of more consistent training, broken up by periods I like to call “winter”. But now with a marathon goal clearly in my sights for the fall, it was time to up my training game.

First Disclaimer

This article is not meant as a training guide and does not include a marathon training plan. The article is more about inspiring you to check an item off of your “bucket list”. For a comprehensive marathon training plan to help get you from point A to point B, there are some excellent resources online. In fact, I pulled a 6-month training plan from the internet last year in preparation for the Valencia Marathon. This post won’t train you up, but hopefully, it will inspire you to train for and complete a marathon, sort of along the school of thought “If he can do it, so can I”. 

Second Disclaimer

When I mentioned earlier about keeping up with the world of marathoning, the truth is, I had no idea what race I was signing up for. I have a holiday apartment in Spain and I was simply looking for a small or mid-sized race in the immediate area. I stumbled upon an ad online, quickly checked the race date, and immediately signed up. In retrospect, I probably should have worn my glasses for this one, since I thought I was signing up for a marathon with a field of 3000. It turned out to be a marathon with a field of 30,000. I may have missed that small detail! Of course, after I figured that out and started to read more about the race,  I slowly realized what I had signed up for. Yikes!

THE UNPREPARED RUNNER'S GUIDE TO THE VALENCIA MARATHON

Support Team

Ok, now there was no turning back. With such a large event with such an elite field, it was time to activate my crack support team…If I had one. Instead, I contacted my two adult sons, who were more likely to laugh at me than cheer me on, but they would have to do. Surprisingly, once I told them my intention they both decided to not only join me in Valencia but to try running the marathon as well, and both signed up. Now we were a team.”Valencia, here we come!”

First Setback

OK, in case you were wondering if this was going to be a story of redemption or a story of how a couch potato made it to the medal podium, you’ll be sadly disappointed. The reality is, that I may have followed my 6-month training plan a little less closely than I should have. Through a combination of my work schedule and an unfortunate injury, I ended up putting together one solid month of training, spread over the first 4 months of my 6-month plan, and then nothing for the last two months due to a cast on my right foot. So in terms of training: “Nailed it”. Since I had already booked flights, hotels, and rental cars and my sons had committed as well, there was no turning back. This race was going to be run on sheer determination.

Arriving in Valencia

In planning the trip for the Valencia Marathon, I decided to go to Spain several weeks before the start to stay at my apartment and train (which as I mentioned above didn’t pan out).  I took the train to Valencia 2 days before the race and booked a hotel just off of the marathon route at mile 19. My sons were heading in late the next day, so I headed to the expo hall to pick up our race numbers first thing in the morning to beat the crowds.

It took a couple of minutes to plan a route with the subway, but once I broke the code it was surprisingly easy to navigate through the city. Once at the expo center, there were no lineups, the staff was very friendly and I took the time to visit the various kiosks set up just past the registration pick-up area. I even bought myself a new pair of running shoes and picked up some marathon information for some races in Italy and also Greece.
(Meanwhile, to find out more about the Mediterranean see related posts: Mediterranean Travel Guide and Guide to the Mediterranean Coast of Spain)

Next Setback

One of my sons came down with the flu earlier that week and had to bow out of the race. He was the fitness trainer in our group and had the best chance out of all three of us, of completing the course. He was now our team photographer. My other son had decided a week earlier to pull out of the race since he just wasn’t able to get some good training behind him. Once in Valencia, however, he reconsidered and we recalibrated expectations: rather than focus on completing the marathon, the objective now was to see how far we could run. Our team was ready!

Race Day

From the downtown area, we took the subway to the race start and found our way to our start zone. Lots of people and lots of nervous energy. It was crazy to see so many people in one spot all there for one activity. It was relatively cool outside which was great since it meant the marathon temperature should be good up until at least mid-day. We left ourselves lots of time so there was no panic. There were barricades, signs, and staff everywhere, and everything looked under control and well organized.

Finally, the race started and we were on our way. After the first 5 minutes of walking, we crossed the starting line and then immediately crossed the bridge. The bridge crossing was quite a site to see and experience. Once on the other side, we were immediately met by cheering crowds, and this remained the case for the rest of the race. There was music at every kilometer, people holding signs and cheering us on and most of the runners were chatting and taking it all in. For such a big marathon it had more of a small-town feel.

The distance markers were well-placed and visible, the water stations were well-equipped and the staff were friendly and cheerful. By the time we were coming through, the staff had already been at their stations for an hour or more, but they were still enthusiastic and positive.

The Wall

I felt really good through the first half of the marathon and stuck to my “plan” of just running slow and steady. Unfortunately, I should have been running even slower because I was about to find out how bad my training preparation really was. By 17 miles I started to feel the first signs. Still felt good but I could tell I was slowly fading. By 20 miles I was now quickly fading and by 21 miles, I was reduced to a walk. I hit the wall and hit it hard. I was so poorly prepared for it, that it was like a light switch going off in my legs. All I could manage for the next 5 miles was a walk with the occasional 20-second jog. 

Marathon Running

Walk Like You Don’t Care

And this is where the embarrassing part of the story comes in. There were race cameras set up throughout the course to capture that moment of “Olympic running Glory” for all of the runners, with the bulk of the cameras being set up in the last 6 miles. So, when looking at the race pictures after the event, you can only see me running in 3 or 4 pictures that were taken in the first half of the race. The rest of the 20 or so pictures are of me walking. Right up to and including me running/walking across the finish line. In fact, when you look at the pictures carefully, you see that there is a race going on but in each photo, there is one random guy who looks like he’s out for a leisurely walk.

I opted in the end not to buy the pictures. As I neared the finish line, I should probably have been embarrassed but considering all of the setbacks I suffered, I decided I didn’t care and forced myself over the line, finishing the run in just over 5 hours. It wasn’t a photo finish (OK, there is a picture of that too), and it was no personal best, but I completed the distance.

Inglorious Performances: Valencia Marathon

I don’t think I was ever so happy to cross a finish line and be done with a race as I was in Valencia. But now it was done. I collected my hard-earned medal and my bag of finish-line goodies and met up with my “photographer” son. We hopped onto the next bus downtown and headed to our post-race meeting point, the hotel. As it turned out, my other son got as far as 17 miles before running out of gas and hitting the wall, and pushed himself up to the 19-mile mark before pulling the plug. He then simply walked off the course straight into our conveniently located hotel and called it a day. Considering that his previous longest run was 10 miles, we considered his 19 mile run a complete victory.

We shared our running war stories with each other, and despite our inglorious performances, we were already talking about the next marathon. Especially once my inexperienced “marathon” son realized that if he had just gone a few more miles and completed the race he would have gotten a finish medal, a detail he wasn’t aware of while running. Don’t worry, I showed him mine!

Valencia Marathon: Mediterranean

Now with the “running” done with, we took the time to look around and explore the city. You can read about our visit to the city and the highlights of Valencia, Spain, in a separate post by clicking the following link: Best Things to Do in Valencia.

FINAL THOUGHTS – VALENCIA MARATHON

We all agreed that the Valencia Marathon didn’t pan out like we had thought but it was still a great experience. The idea of running in a destination marathon was something that we wanted to repeat. Now that we had run the Valencia Marathon, we started discussing what our next marathon would be, preferably on the Mediterranean. Greece or Italy are the main candidates for now but we have time to choose. Due to our busy schedules, we won’t be able to travel and run together until 2025 but this time we’ll be ready.

As far as the Valencia Marathon is concerned, this is an extremely well-organized elite marathon race, with excellent volunteer support from start to finish, in a historic and beautiful location, with a fast flat course. With the proper training and preparation, you can easily find yourself running your personal best at this race. And who knows, maybe one day I will too!

Reg Auge

Reg holds an MBA, is a former Captain in the Canadian military and has worked as a consultant in industry for over 20 years. From his home in Spain, he has spent the last 10 years traveling throughout the Mediterranean, exploring the various countries and regions. He also regularly runs, windsurfs, and kite surfs, maintaining a healthy and active way of life. Captivated by this Mediterranean lifestyle, he began a Blog last year to inspire like-minded souls to learn about and discover this unique region for themselves.

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