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Sunday February 25th 2018 VodafoneMalta Half Marathon No 3 Malta

Sunday 25 February 2018
Richard 01:52:23 Jackie 02:14:32


The Malta  Marathon /Half Marathon and Walkathon has being going (though not in its present form ) since 1985 but it was not until 2008 that it reached 1,000.00 participants . Since then it has continued to grow and this year attracted nearly 5,000.00 entrants with 2,700.00 of these being foreigners of which 800 were from the UK . As well as Rochdale Harriers clubs from Bradford, Blackburn, Preston , Gateshead and Portsmouth among others  were represented and more than once "come on Rochdale" was shouted from the spectators , recognizing our distinctive vests .

"Come on Rochdale "
 900 entered the Marathon with 3,500.00 running in the half . Best Marathon time was 02:18:31 whilst the best half was 01:08:52 . In the Ladies 02:53:47 and 01:19:28.
   The race was 35 euros to enter which included a T-Shirt and Medal and 4 euros for the bus to the start . We paid £60.00 each return for the flights (3hrs 30 mins ) and the Sliema Hotel , 200 mtrs from the finish was 42 euros a night for a double room , fairly basic with a noisy lift but great position and cafe/restaurant next door .

The finish

Valletta European Capital of culture 2018

So what about the race . We were bused to the start from the finishing area to the 8th century BC ancient city of Mdina . As this is a hilltop settlement we were aware that this was a downhill route and a good place to get a PB . This was my intention and indeed there was plenty of downhill and I tried to keep a good pace going . Despite this the 5 km mark was a long time coming and the down hill was interspersed with uphill sections . By 10km the sun was out and it felt hot . I was drinking 2 bottles of water at the water-stations and throwing one over my head . The last 5 km was a flat traffic free road  along the sea front with no shade and I was suffering as it went on and on . In the end I was rewarded with a PB but it was far from easy . I think I miss judged this one, was fooled by the "downhill route" tag and didn't account for the heat . I think I could run a better race if I did it again .

Hot !!

    
Hot !!
Jackie and Cath at the start

Jackie and Cath in Valletta
This was a well organized and friendly race , good scenic route with plenty of drink stations and toilets . Free transport for  extra clothing back to the finish and well supported with bands along the route and plenty of spectators for the final 2km . We also had a great day out in Valletta on our free day . Oh and the local beer Cisk was excellent .

Taking our extra clothing to the finish


A special thanks to Muhammad for the sponsorship who was also from Rochdale and attempting to run 6 full Marathons this year .

Muhammad in the official T-Shirt

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