Valencia Marathon

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  • So having started this thread it is about time to get it running agin. Pardon the pun. Together with my son we did do Valencia last year. Leading up to it my training was going well but then started to feel unwell so to cut a long story short I ended up in hospital having a lung drained and a subsequent operation on my lung.

    So any chances I had of a good run went completely. I ended up going round the course in just under five hours.but it was all it was ever it was going to be with the illness. Still onto this year and feel there is unfinished business in Valencia and am returning to have another crack at the race.

    I actually really loved the city and the race. The expo was good for us as we were there on the Friday when it was quiet it was certainly much busier on the Saturday. The race start was a little chaotic with people struggling to get into starting pens but eventually got in when the barriers were moved. Once we started running got over the line quickly and thought the course was great.

    So hopefully we will be there in better fettle and hope to see you all this year.
  • Hi Leveller, sorry to hear about your 2018 experience and hope you are now fully recovered. I also had a poor start at Valencia in 2014 and also felt I had unfinished business. I then went back in '15, '16 and '17 culminating in a gfa qualification that will allow me to run London next week. I missed last year as I ran New York but I am back this year and really looking forward to it. My daughter is also running this year. 
  • Thanks for the kind words bob did Madrid

    I am certainly aiming to have a better time off it. I guess it is just part of life but it is a struggle to get any speed in the legs.

    Well done on the GFA I hope you enjoy London
  • > @leveller said:
    > Has anyone done this one on Here?  
    >
    > Really fancy a marathon abroad and this one looks good.
    >
    > Is the course interesting and do they provide gels on the Route? 
    >
    > Is there a medical certificate required like the Paris Marathon? 
    >
    > Sorry about the questions but I hope someone can help
    >
    > Thanks

    First of all, I wanted to make sure in its reality. And if everything is great here, I will take part in it futher.
  • Hi Anna, in answer to your questions

    Yes, I've run Valencia 4 times and will be going again this year.
    It is a very interesting and flat course, with plenty of crowd support.
    Gels are provided on course (Enervit in previous years).
    No medical certificate required.

    A great city and a well organized race. 
  • I signed up for Valencia the evening of finishing my first marathon (Southampton) and just missing a BQ time by 42 seconds (hadn’t been expecting to get anywhere near that!). Really looking forward to it. For you Valencia veterans, with the shuttle buses to and from the hotels, do they run throughout the day? So if my family are staying with me, can they catch a much later bus in to come and see me (likely at the finish line!)?
  • Not sure about that one anx as I stay very close to the start/finish. The problem is that most of the main routes from the centre to the finish area are closed so it could be tricky. However, the metro takes you to many parts of the course. However, the nearest metro to the finish is about 2km away so your family would have a bit of a walk. 

    The organisers always publish a map showing best viewing points and how to access them by metro/public transport. I have been told it is an excellent and very accessible marathon for spectators so your 'fans' shouldnt have any difficulty getting to see you a few times.
  • Thanks Bob! Do you mind me asking where you stay? I’m guessing most places very close will be all booked up now- or very expensive! 
  • Last year i remember several families getting around the course to several points. I am not sure whether they walked or used the metro but Valencia is very easy to get around. If you check the course out you can get between points quite easily, we stayed near Martin serenis station which was not that far to walk to the start area
  • Hi anx, in the past I have stayed at the Barceló Valencia on Avenida de Francia. As Leveller says it is an easy city to get around particularly with the marvellous Turia Gardens running throughout which makes walking (and running) an absolute pleasure.
  • GipfelGipfel ✭✭✭
    Good luck to everyone doing this year's Valencia Marathon - hope the training has gone well and that you're looking forward to the Big Day now that the tapering has begun. As I knew I would, I'm wishing I was going ot be there - saw a video the organisers had posted of the platform over the water to the finish being built, cue lots of wistful sighing - it's such a great finish! I'd love to see some race reports on here to help me live vicariously :D  
  • Hi Gipfel, I’m also feeling a bit wistful about not doing it this year after three consecutive participations even though I’m doing Malaga in just over a fortnight. Have you done / are you doing an autumn marathon this year?

    Best wishes to all running in Valencia this weekend. 

  • Yes, good wishes to all those running Valencia, home of my marathon PB.   
    I am also running Malaga LT having run it last year. It's also really good with the finish area bordered by its Christmas food and drink fair. 
  • That sounds good OO. It’ll be the first time I’ve run Malaga. I see there’s an incline from 35k to 37k, did you notice it much? Any other course info would be appreciated. Thanks 
  • OuchOuchOuchOuch ✭✭✭
    edited November 2019
    It was a fast typical Spanish city marathon, well-organised, flat and run along wide roads with not too many twists and turns.  I didn't detect an incline at 35km, but in a marathon you don't detect too much at that stage!  The sun came up and got warm from around 9 am but there was plenty of shade to run in.  Support was fine at its best when you ran back into the centre at miles 6, 13 and 26! Good feed and water stations, some decent sounding bands and a bizarre flutist (I think) when you run around the empty athletics track at around 30k.  Gotta kinda empty in the last half as only around 2,000 run the marathon.  It was a good final kms through the city centre and back along the starting straight.   Whilst Valencia shades it due to the spectacular finish and big city marathon feel, Malaga is its good looking younger cousin with its own attributes.   0054 from 3.15 thread and a mate of his are also running it.   It was a really nice city to explore, so much so, 4 of us went last year (3 ran) with 13 members of my family going this (6 running).     
  • Thanks very much for that OO, it’s very informative. I think they’ve got more runners entered this year, though not sure how many more. I ran the Vitoria Marathon in the Basque Country back in May and there were 501 runners who finished. I was virtually alone for about 25k with very little crowd support and it was hard going. I’m expecting somewhere between Valencia & Vitoria and what you’ve said seems to support that. I’ll have a look at the 3:15 thread.

    I know Malaga reasonably well and I think it’s a nice city but it’s the first time I’ve ran there. I’m thinking of doing either Madrid or Zaragoza in April, the latter is also hosting the Spanish Marathon Masters championship.

    Thanks again.
  • OuchOuchOuchOuch ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Hi LT, you may have seen this, a real good 3D run through of the Malaga route with suitably calming background music, looks a bloody long way....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47IqtWu-iOI  Hope your feeling in good nick, 2 weeks to go now! 
  • Hi OO. Yes, I saw it a while back but thanks for posting.

    Did my final real long run today, 29k (18 miles) and it got better as it went on. Did some gel / sports drink experimentation too and had no ill effects. Will start winding down now and try to moderate what I eat till carb loading begins (and even then not go beserk). 

    I’ve been living my life a little vicariously this weekend with Valencia on but, as you say, just a fortnight to go. Do you know if Malaga has an app to track runners? 

    How is your training going?
  • OuchOuchOuchOuch ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    LT

    Some rapid times at Valencia and I hope to go back in 2020.

    Your  run sounds really positive, good to go into a race on a high.
    My 13m went well, with the last 10k in 39.15.  The last few weeks have gone well but training has been hampered as suffering with bilateral hernias, however not going to stop me having a good go at something around 2.55. I've also just bought a pair of the Nike VF the magic shoes so will debut thses in the hope they will be worth a minute or two! 
  • OO, watched about the last 16k of Valencia last night. Apart from enjoying the race, it brought back a lot of memories. That part at Km40 where you leave the old town and come onto the flat stretch by Turia Gardens has always been a massive thing for me there. You really know that you’re almost home. I wonder if there were many crowding issues and how effective the wave starts were? Would be good to hear from any Valencia runners as it might affect whether I go back next year.

    That’s a very strong finish to your 13 miler. No idea what you’d run a 10k in race conditions but that seems like excellent closing speed. The hernia thing doesn’t sound good, however. How much do you notice it when you run?

    I can’t really justify investing in VFs or Next % right now and where I am, the deals aren’t as good as what seem to be available in the UK. One of the things that concerns me about the VFs is that they seem to have a very short lifespan, especially for what you pay. How much will you break them in pre race? The rule of thumb always used to be around 100 miles I think but obviously the VF is a different shoe compared with what came before but it’s something I’m curious about.

    I’ll be running in Zoom Fly Knits, they are fine but I preferred the original non fly knit version.I get very good use from them, my previous pair of zoom fly knits have over 1000k on them and are still responsive enough for faster sessions.

    Did 6 x 800 today and it came out very well. The speed was well up on the same session back in October and the legs felt the most recovered they’d been for some while, so fingers - crossed things are coming together.


  • OuchOuchOuchOuch ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Hi LT,  I certaintly know the hernias are there, especially on a long run.

    I have just bought 2 pairs of ZFs, and be very happy to get 1000k out of a pair, I've used them for tempo running, feel good once you get used to them. I normally run in Adidas Supernova Boosts and race marathons in a new pair with 0 miles on them for maximum spring but will probably do a 6-8 mile run beforehand in the VF's.  At £125,  I will run maybe 5 marathons in them, so taking into account what an alternative pair of shoes would cost, works out at £10 a marathon which sounds fine. 

    Probably is time for some 800 m runs here too.

    I ran 2.50 in Malaga in 2018 but hoping to shade under 2.55 this time around, whats your targets? 
  • Hi OO,

    I’m hoping for somewhere in the 2:59 - 2:55 range. Without wanting to tempt fate, I’m beginning to feel that might be achievable based on recent efforts.

    2:50 last year sounds like a great time and run. Was it a pb? I’m in the M50+ age group. What about you? (Hope you don’t mind me asking!)

    Just had a look at the weather. 11 - 18 degrees and sunny with a gentle breeze on race day at present. I’ll take that but will probably run in a cap. 

    I’ve just seen on their twitter page that it’s a wind jacket for the marathoners and a tec shirt for those running the half. I’m happy with that and quite like the design. I’ve got loads of tshirts.


  • OuchOuchOuchOuch ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Hi LT,

    My PB was at Valencia in 2017, 2.45.  Whats yours? 

    I am in the same age cat as you, though Malaga will be the last day before I venture into V55!!   Committing to a target and your half-way there and 2.55 - 2.59 is tasty. I was umming and aarring about me until yesterday. 

    Malaga in 2018 was special as it was my 10th sub 3 on the bounce, hopefully 2019 will be the 14th!!  Very happy with those temperatures, not as warm as last year but warm enough as lots of family joining me there for the sun and fun, and my 21 year old son is running his first half marathon.  Very happy with the wind cheater too as like you have far too many race shirts now.

    Just doing a few faster runs, avoiding colds, and counting down the days.  
  • Hi OO

    PB of 2:59, set back in the spring. Had a 3:00:xx in Valencia last year and was actually happier with that than the 2:59 as I thought I was in about 3:05 shape, so ran above expectations. In the spring I thought I’d run faster based on training and prep races but peaked too early and never seemed to recover properly during taper. Still, I managed sub 3 but it wasn’t how I envisaged it.

    That’s an impressive streak of sub 3 hour performances and an excellent pb.

    I think Tommy Hughes won our age group last year in around 2:30. Something else really.

    10k at MP tomorrow and then that’s it bar a few dress rehearsal kms at MP next Tuesday and an easy paced 22k on Sunday. Everything else will be short and slow.


  • 2.59 in the Spring, excellent, that recent form should still be there then and 10k @ MP is a tough session but great when finished.   I am more or less following last years 2 weeks, so its an easy day today/ tomorrow and a fast session on Saturday 5m easy and 5m hmp. Then like you just a few faster 1k/ 800 metre segments in some 4 mile runs.  Then rest days Friday and Saturday waiting for the off.  

    It was a bit tight in the starting pens last year as after 300 metres we got funnelled into a relatively narrow path through some road-works, so I am hoping that's all finished as it looks like there will be more runners this time round, so start as near the front as poss. 

    The only thing I am not looking forward to is the 6.05 am flight from Bristol to Malaga, and the 3.30 am wake-up call! 

    Btw:  Entries to Valencia 2020 are absolutely flying. Went for a run with my running mate last night around 5.15 pm and we were considering running it next year,  when there was 2,500 or so entries left in the first 10,000 tranche when we got back 200 left, 20 minutes later, none.  
  • GipfelGipfel ✭✭✭
    LT - hi, and congratulations on your 2:59 earlier this year - really glad to hear that you did achieve the sub-3 you were so close to previously. It sounds as if you're aiming to shave more time off at Malaga, so I hope it all goes as planned for you. I entered the Tokyo Marathon ballot on a whim and was lucky enough to get a place - so I'm in the middle of training for that at the moment! I'm actually using a Hansons plan for the first time and am finding it great so far - I am only halfway through Week 6, so I'm very aware that it's only just starting to ramp up, but I'm really enjoying the structure and am feeling stronger already. So, thank you for the recommendation, because although I've now read a lot about the method, I hadn't heard of it until you first mentioned it in (I think) this thread last year!

    I too watched bits of Valencia (after the day, as I couldn't get the live stream to work on the day), and it brought back very good memories - I was also wondering if it was more crowded this year - and I am also wondering if it will be more so in 2020, seeing as they have scrapped the 10k, presumably in order to free up more spaces for the marathon (I hope they consider putting on the 10k another time of the year, as it seemed like a good event in itself). Having run London this year and (although I had a brilliant experience there overall) found certain parts of the course to be overly congested, I do hope they don't let the numbers grow too much. I did miss Valencia this year and am hugely tempted to enter for 2020, but with the various other plans I already have for the year, I didn't really want to commit so far in advance - however, now, thinking about it, I'm wondering whether to enter 'just in case' and transfer my place later if I can't make it! I know they have had quite a good official place transfer system (via Facebook) for the last couple of years. 

    I hope Malaga goes well for you both - it sounds as if you are both in good form for it - I hope you both get your sub-2:55s as planned. It would be great to hear all about it afterwards. This one is definitely on my list for future years - I do have a bit of a Spanish marathon craving after a year without any! That jacket looks really nice (and I see is made by Luanvi like the Valencia tops, which I really like the light material of). 
  • Gipfel - very good to hear from you and congratulations on getting into Tokyo. Will that be your second major after London? Also good to read that you seem to be feeling the benefits of the Hansons plan. It’s definitely made me a stronger runner and it’s interesting that you are noticing something similar. Are you planning to do a prep race before Tokyo? You might well see some gains from Hansons if so. 

    It certainly sounds like Valencia was more crowded this year, in line with the trend of the last few years. Much as I’ve loved my experiences there, I don’t see myself going back for the foreseeable future mainly due to crowding now  seemingly becoming more of an issue. I didn’t realise that they’d dropped the 10k race but it might well be a wise move given the above. I’m sure they’ll transfer it to another date. They’ve also got their half and a 15k night race, so pretty much a full suite, assuming there’s a 5k too. Anyway, thanks for the good wishes and I’ll let you know how it goes. Maybe the title of this thread should be changed to either Malaga or Spanish marathons!

    OO - thanks for the heads up about the starting pens. I’ll definitely try to get as far forward as possible. I’m beginning to feel more confident about maybe retaining or improving on the 2:59 form. Things have come together a bit recently but I’m not getting carried away. The 10k at MP went quite well yesterday and the splits were faster compared to recent efforts for similar perceived effort. Finished strongly too. Hopefully, it’ll translate into race form a week Sunday.

    Rather you than me for the early flight. At least you should arrive in good time. Hope you can get some kip on the plane. I’m heading down on Friday afternoon and will have a gentle 5k shakeout along some of the route Saturday morning.

    Your update on Valencia confirms my suspicions. I wonder if they’ll start introducing qualifying standards at some point?
  • Hi LT,

     "Heading down" are you one of the lucky ones who lives in Spain?   Yes, should grab some shut-eye on the flight. I may have I mentioned my older son (21) is running his first half-marathon so he should be asleep but my 9 year old will be so excited..

    Sounds like things are coming together and I say go for it on bettering your current PB as I think marathon runners - me included - too often run with the handbrake on. When I ran my PB @ Valencia, it was 5 weeks after I ran my until then PB of 2.48.58 and I thought I may as well go for it and ran 3.5 minutes faster, just by pushing a little bit harder through the race. 

    I've written off Valencia for 2020, it takes the best part of 4 hours to get to London from here (Cornwall) for a direct flight.  It has grown in size and reputation, deservedly so as it was a good marathon and great city. 

    Gipfel - Tokyo sounds ace, what an experience that will be.  The Japanese love their distance running. 
  • Morning OO,

    Yes, I live in Madrid. We’re taking the AVE (high speed train). It takes 2hrs 45 minutes and is generally a really comfortable and stress-free way to travel, beats taking a domestic flight.

    How is your son feeling ahead of his half marathon debut? What kind of time is he hoping for?

    The weather forecast seems to be holding for next weekend, just a bit more breezy now but nothing to worry too much about, touch wood.

    I’m definitely going to be aiming to be beat my current pb but will attempt to build into it pace wise. That’s been the foundation for my most satisfying marathon performances. I think anyone who’s had a marathon which has unraveled badly runs with the handbreak on for good reason. Like many, my first attempt ended in a painful final 10k and my experience at Boston was even worse, a very painful Via Crucis (as they’d say here) from a long way out. Since then, I like to think I’ve learnt a bit and things have gone well. That’s not to say that I haven’t hurt in the last third / quarter of some of those races but no unraveling and quite a few negative splits. I really want to keep it that way next weekend! 
  • That sounds a pretty cool city to live in, especially if you like football.  Me and a mate where thinking of the Madrid marathon in 2020 but it's the same day as London so we've opted to run Geneva instead, a few weeks later. 

    My son's aim is to make sure he is not beaten by any of his 2 aunties or uncles who are also running!!  Makes us sound like a really athletic family, which we are not!!  He is going to run with my GPS watch and hoping to run 5.30 minute k's.  He is at University so not really sure what training he has some. 

    I've only really suffered in a marathon once London in 2016 when due to injury I ran no long runs and suffered from mile 20 - those last miles went on forever.  Chapeau on running a negative split, 33 marathons done and I've still not managed it, Malaga last year being my smallest + split at less than 2 minutes. So will aim for something similar next week. 

    Ran my last session y'day which came out well, so all being equal will aim for  2.52-2.55, though hopefully the Vaporflys will make that easier or make it a touch quicker.   So just a few 4 milers for me this week with a few quick k's chucked in and will try out the new shoes for the first time probably Tuesday.  Time now to avoid all the coughing kids at my younger sons school!!!
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