Sunday 14th October 2018 Sofia Half Marathon No 16 Bulgaria

Sunday 14th October 2018 Sofia Half Marathon No 16

Richard 02:14:17 Jackie 02:20:21

Sofia was now our 6th half marathon since the 2nd September .September and October were always going to be the months that would make or break the challenge . Firstly it is when a lot of the races are scheduled plus now the weather was starting to cool down . We had one a week booked for 8 weeks on the trot and by the time Sofia came round we were feeling the strain .On top of the races there was the travelling and the sightseeing . Sofia was extra hard as we had a late flight on the Saturday and had arranged to pick up our bibs before the race on the Sunday which started at 10.am . As the flight arrived after midnight we opted to stay at an airport hotel and were up very early to get a taxi to registration . The start of the race was at the National Stadium named after a famous Bulgarian revolutionary hero Vasil Levski. There was a 10.5 km 21.00 km and 42km with 10.50 race one lap the half two and marathon four laps .Some people don't like laps but I do . We both knew we were tired so took our time and managed to enjoy it .

Vasil Levski stadium

Sofia isn't a place we knew much about and we hadn't visited before . I was pleasantly surprised it is surrounded by mountains which gives a nice backdrop and must look great in winter when they are covered in snow. The most well known and best for hiking being The Vitosha Mountain. Parts of the city are run down and some of the urban areas well worn and lived in ,but the centre is dramatic with great buildings and Soviet era sculptures and very clean . There are also some nice parks a pedestrianised shopping street and the old CSKA football stadium in one of the parks was my favourite place and very atmospheric .It was also not as expensive as some of the places we had visited recently.

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