Now we have all made it back safely from Palma, it’s time to gloat about, sorry, “share” the experience! Ten of us headed off to Palma, Mallorca with Coach Eileen plus some partners. Unfortunately Eileen has been injured for several weeks and wasn’t able to race. However she was able to do an organised Breakfast 5k run on the Friday.
This was a great idea of an overall very well organised race. There were two led runs on both the Friday and Saturday mornings from the Expo. Participants got cake, a drink and a (very bright yellow) hat. Mark, Rowena, Davy and Aisling braved it on the Sat morning. The Expo was open on both Sat and Sunday to pick up packs. While there were lengthy queues on the Sat, they moved quickly and pick up was well organised (though there was the odd discrepancy about acceptable ID!) There were plenty of vendors selling a wide range of running merchandise, from socks to sunglasses plus the official race merchandise. Purchases were made by several club members. The very colourful race t-shirt was an extra cost. Essentially, toilets were plentiful and regularly cleaned and free suntan lotion was available at several points throughout.
After Storm Alice hit the Balearics the week before, we were lucky with the weather. It settled back to blue skies, a pleasant 24C with only the occasional cloud. Heard it was a bit wet back here! We had an early start.
The 10k set off first at 8am. It was weird but lovely meeting up in the dark then running towards the sunrise. The Half and Full set off 15 minutes later so it was a very well organised startline. The 10k had only a short time on the main road before heading up into the beautiful winding, and sometimes hilly, streets of the old town. We were sheltered from the sun for the most part.
Eileen and John were there to greet us all on the last corner. First in was Helen, then Rowena, Maureen and finally Fiona. (Lynne’s husband Colin pipped Helen by just 1 second and Davy’s wife Aisling crossed the line just after Rowena!)
After downing our bananas and powerades, we all headed back to support the Half Marathoners. They had a longer run on the exposed main road before reaching the old town. While the shelter from the sun was appreciated, the meandering course was not, with some preferring the earlier, straighter roads. First in was Shaun (at 1:49:07 a PB!), then Mark, Lynne, David and Elish. We cheered in a few other local clubs including Jog Moira (with their own flag!) and North Down & Ards. Calls of “Keep her Lit” got their attention!
In our goodie bags we got a voucher for a free drink including Heineken. Despite the early hour we thought it would be rude not to partake or indeed go back for extra!
This distracted us a bit but we saved a pint to go in search of Davy crossing the line. The Full Marathon was two laps of the Half Marathon course and now, past noon, it had gotten very hot. Previously we had noticed several runners opting out of the second lap and heading for the finish. However it was not a bother for regular Marathoner Davy who got a course PB- and it’s not every race you get a pint on the finish line!
Compared to local races, there was little support out round the course. Just the police, occasional marshal and initially the odd bewildered tourist trying to get out of their hotels. However this became an issue for Davy in the Full as the tourists arrived in force off the Cruise ships and no race was going to interrupt their meanderings. As now has become tradition, we all got together for a meal that night. Elish, Helen and Fiona had an apartment so were able to host “prinks” beforehand. Medals were worn proudly. Different colours for the 3 races with a spinning Cathedral in the centre! A few of us managed one more bevvy before calling it a day.
Overall, feedback was positive. Jog Moira now come every year in increasingly larger numbers. They were the 2nd biggest Club in the Marathon and 4th in the Half. Compared to Budapest last year, accommodation was dearer. Flights from both Belfast and Dublin were prolific with Aer Lingus, Easyjet, Jet2 and Ryan Air but not particularly cheap. It is a beautiful seaside city, with a good choice of bars and restaurants; plenty to see with good links to other parts of the island for a bit of sight seeing. A few of us even got a swim in the Med
Would I do it again? In a heart beat.
FT