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Sunday 17th March 2019 Paphos Half Marathon No 27 Cyprus

Paphos Half Marathon Sunday 17th March 2019 No 27 Cyprus

Richard 02:07:43 Jackie 02:20:46

If you want to combine a holiday with a bit of running this is ideal . The only draw back is the 5hr flight which was our longest yet but with the whole series of "Line of Duty " downloaded on my phone the time passed quickly . On all our flights I would say 70% to 80 % of passengers are watching films or playing games on phones and tablets and I wouldn't be without mine .
A pleasant addition to this trip was the inclusion for the first time of the "Wine Run ". It took place on the Friday and was a 5km route round a wine estate up in the hills . The 30 euro entry included a t- shirt the bus to the start and back and a  tour of the winery (including tastings) after . It was a huge success and massively oversubscribed as it was limited to 200 but I guess that could easily have been doubled .  



The race was on the Sunday and after a couple of cloudy days the sun was back out in full force . A very agreeable 20 degrees . I would have preferred a cloudy day but looking back most of our runs which were on a Sunday lived up to their name Sun Day . I can now appreciate our climate is very suitable for running as what ever the weather once you are out the front door you soon get warm . Its not quiet the same for cycling as its a struggle to keep the hands and feet warm in winter .





Before and after the run we became aware of a lot of green tops and further investigation revealed 100 runners had entered from Red- Way Runners Milton Keynes . They had also brought 30 supporters .The club has only been going a few years but has been incredibly successful mainly due to the use of the traffic free redways which run all over town . The club has over 2000 members and is proof a lot more people would cycle and run if our towns and cities had proper cycle and running paths . Also represented among the 3,500 runners we noticed groups from Garstang, Swindon Striders, Mansfield Harriers and Medway Runners . Not forgetting Rochdale Harriers.   


The run was very well organised with plenty of water stations and a great start and  finish at Paphos Castle. Another nice touch was a 2 day free bus pass for entrants , and if you are thinking of doing your first away run this would be a good place to start .
The winner of the Marathon was Adam 'tango' Holland . Google him if you get time he is a very inspiring young man .

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