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Barcelona Marathon 2014
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Last 5k done. Bag packed already for the airport hotel in Liverpool & early flight on Saturday. Looks like the North Wales contingent are good to go.
Good advice re Martin, John. Don't want any more 'scenes from Platoon' on the finish line, lol!
Good luck to everyone here
final gentle 3.6miler this morning. Looking forward to getting on the plane tomorrow morning
Best of luck to everyone on Sunday. Will try to make it to the group photo at 7.45am (hope my measly contribution to the forum qualifies as participant in the photo)
Good luck everyone. Remember to put sunscreen on the tops of your ears
.
Did someone say there is a race tracker application for friends and family to track runners?
Off to the airport in an hour or so. I must be the last to leave. I'll switch the lights off.
Goodness knows when im going to get some kip.
Best of British to all concerned. Have a truly great weekend ... let battle commence!
Bansky,..the official website will have a tracker on the day of the race
at the airport zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Good luck everyone.
Enjoyed the breakfast run this morning, nice temp for a short run but getting warm for anything longer, good luck all.
A lovely day today, but agree hope it is cooler tomorrow!
Parc Guell, Sagrada Famillia and La Pedrera all done. A sit on the beach (and a beer
) before coming back to the hotel... stopping for a photo at the finishing line between the tube and hotel.
See you all tomorrow, I'll be the one in the green top!!!
Hello all, sorry didn't see you at the start. I yelled a couple of times but to no avail. Great day out with the ladies but bloody hell it was a bit hot. Would definitely recommend this one though. Even with the last 2kms being a gentle uphill.
Hi, Sorry I didn't see you at the pre-meet, I had no idea where it was so just made my way to my pen. I saw someone in the pen in front wearing a union jack top and took a punt that it might be Wenty and I was right!
Great to meet you Wenty and thanks for pacing me round the first 24 miles. It's the first time I've run with someone and it certainly seemed to make the time go quicker and the miles easier! Having set out with a target of going sub 3:30 I'm was pleased to smash 17 minutes off my PB and come home in 3:20:37 though of course I now wish I could have found an extra 38 seconds when I pushed on for those last two miles! Best of luck with your sub 3 quest in London. I hope I didn't hinder your plans by stopping you slowing down a bit earlier today!
Thanks to all for all the advice and tips along the way, I feel I've really grown from a 'go out the door and run as fast as you can for as long as you can' runner to appreciate the value of the long slow run, speed sessions etc. and that certainly showed in my time!
I now have my target for London - sub 3:20 though of course I may try for 3:15!! But where will the next European adventure be?!..
It was very hot today, sun was really burning at the end. I'm very satisfied with my race. Managed to finish in 2 38 04. I finally may call me a marathoner because i was honoured to meet the man with the hammer.
He stroke me at 35km. Before i was running to a time somewhere around 2:35-36. It really came suddenly, at km 34 i still felt very good and was even able to fasten my tempo. I think it's partly due to the heat also. Maybe it sounds a bit strange but i'm kind of happy this happened to me, it's that more beautiful if you reach the finish fighting with yourself. I'm anxious to hear about the rest. My travelmate finished his first just under 3 hours and was very happy with it as well. @phill superb you could smash your record.
Well done everyone!
Was lovely to see Wenty at the start!
Good to meet you again emmy and the gang - good to get a pre race photo again - whens the next european one???
Cheers Phil for being my tour guide round the course and pointing out the spots of interest. You finished so strong that you must be good for a sub 3:15
I think I actually enjoyed this one looking back at it. I'm a bit sunburnt now though!
Well done everyone. I really enjoyed this one as with no pressure I could take in the crowds and views more. I paced a clubmate round to a pb in 2:57 and the pace felt nice and easy with no stiff legs after although rushing for the train I jarred my groin so a trip to Physio will hopefully put my mind at rest.
Well done all. Bit of a crap time for me but didn't stop me from enjoying the race in a great city. Fantastic support and organisation I thought (except for whoever put the road bumps in at mile 17/18 that tripped me up! Was a great weekend with a great bunch of teammates (5 out of 7 got pbs and Martin was using it for training anyway). Looking forward to the next adventure already!
Hi all, hope you are all recovering! Legs are pretty battered and it's all a bit tight below the knees! Great city, brilliant race really well organised and a super bunch of mates that really made the weekend for me. Well pleased with my 3:38:58 pb, slight positive split, mainly due to that last drag up the hill near the end!
Well done everyone - some good times out there considering the heat (doubt if it affected Martin as the sun was still coming up when he had finished)
any recomendations of other european races ?
Nice to catch up on all the results/comments
Final able to sit down by a computer after the weekends excitement. Had a brilliant weekend, with a great bunch from my running club. I was so impressed with Barcelona as a city- absolutely stunning! II couldn't fault the marathon itself - really enjoyed the course, the support was amazing and the water stations were excellent. Unfortunately, however, it was a wee bit too warm for me (all my long runs are done at 6am when the temperatures tend to in the low single digits!!) - despite lots of factor 50, wearing a sports cap and taking on fluids and dowsing down with water (the sponge was a great idea!!) I wilted in the last 5 miles. From being comfortably within my 2.45 target it was a real battle in the latter stages, but I was still pleased to at least PB (only just!) in this superb marathon!
lol re other European race recommendations (I guess Emmy is the best one to advise?) - I would seriously consider another weekend away with a group from my running club if it could be guaranteed to be as good as the one I've just had!
Have enjoyed the chat on this thread over recent months! Pob lwc/good luck in future events!
Hi all, back to work and normality. A great weekend indeed!
Agree with you n the heat John, i was flying( for me) and on course for 3:40 till about 22 miles and then i just had to back off a lot. i was caked in salt at the end! still did 3:47 which was a pb by a whole 11 minutes so very happy. Oh to get that course on a cold day!! but it was a fantastic event and i realyy enjoyed the support and course
Did make the meet up as i kinda fell out of bed at 8am and had to hotfoot it to the start! Felt good and strong and the training paid off but the very un-irish heat im afraid!
My wife and i will be back!
http://www.strava.com/activities/121740421
Here is my Strava trace .... most others seem to have measured it long... perhaps a bit more elevation than advertsing... I didn't find the climbs too bad but some were quite long and gradual.
Agree Barcelona is a top city - may clinch top European city for me.
The sub 3 mission still remains, however this game isn't supposed to be easy! (I'm guessing this is why we do it?
)
Good luck for the future...
Hi guys!!
Great reading back over the last few days posts. My second visit to Barcelona and what a city it is, I just love the place. And what a marathon it hosts, just a great sight-seeing tour, I absolutely loved it.
As for the race, I sat on the bus tour on Saturday and thought crumbs this is gonna be be a warm one! My shaved head was already pink, and my legs knackered from climbing seven flights of stairs each and every time I went back to the apartment!!
Despite the heat I managed to bag myself a PB, 3:36 taking 12 minutes off my previous best. I guessed anything between 3:30 and 3:40 was possible and 3:35 was my Jantastic target so not too shabby! Loved this race and finished the final 3M strong which means I reckon there's still more to come - I know now that I must be braver with my pace in the early stages of the race, I took 6M to settle myself down and get on pace.
Flatboy I have a feeling I saw you during the race. Were you running with two other fellas? NWRRC on the back of your vests? You came passed me at about mile 5/6, then I went passed you, then somehow passed you again when there was just two of you?!
So what's next for everyone? Edinburgh in ten weeks for me and then lots of cycling - I am doing John O'Groats to Lands End in August.
Good luck with the sub 3 mission Banksy. My Garmin came in close to 26.5 too - I guess with the course being so twisty and runners not being able to take the racing line (per the official 26.2 measurement) runners are likely to run a bit further than 26.2?
I was really socked at the colour of my 1st post race pee, particularly given the fact that I took something on at each water station (obviously not enough!?)
Indeed was nice chatting here and exchange idea's and tips. Can't give any advice on other marathons, i'm still a rookie. Ask me again in 10 years
. Banksys, good luck with your sub 3 hours goal.
NR - a rookie with the minerals to go sub 2h35m - your RW name is clearly appropriate!!? You are clearly one talented runner and with more marathon experience you will no doubt go sub 2h30m!!
Was hugging the blue line all the way round bar a few steps off course to grab a bottle of water, ....and then pour it all over my head
...... trying to pick a single banana up at 6:50 mile (or faster) pace is something that needs a little practise in future hehe