The Global Adventurer

A view of Hamburg along the race course

Hamburg is definitely a people-oriented city. Everything from the transportation, hotel, restaurant to the race itself, is geared towards customer satisfaction.

We flew with Brussels Airlines and landed in Hamburg on Saturday, April 16, 2016 just before 11:00 AM. Three train transfers and 33 minutes later (one stop on S1-Blankense to Ohlsdorf, 5 stops/9 minutes on U1-Ohlstedt to Kellinghusenstrasse, and 4 stops/6 minutes on U3-Wandsbek-Gartenstadt to Sternchanze), we were at Hamburg Fair to get my bib at the expo.

We arrived at the expo just as the Kids’ Run was getting underway. The race was finished by the time we got out of the expo hall so there were lots of children with their families milling about and enjoying the post-run festivities. The entrance to the trains was lined with commuters. It was going to be a long wait so we decided to walk to our hotel instead.

The five-star Grand Elysée Hamburg was our home for the weekend. Normal check-in time was 3:00 PM but we were able to relax in our room by 1:30 PM. I checked out the goodie bag and found that aside from my Mizuno finisher’s shirt, I also got Red Bull, Krombacher Alkoholfrei alcohol-free beer, Mobil water container, Seba-Med daily shampoo, LBS gummies, Dextro energy bar, Eat Natural bar (very yummy!), 2Skin Anti-Chafing cream,  a pack of tissues, sponge, race magazine, and safety pins.

We walked to the nearby Edeka supermarket to stock up on water, yogurt, more Eat Natural bars, and some chips. Along the way, we scoped out Vapiano as a possible restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was full of people, a sign that the place has good food, affordable, or both.

Down time followed next where we just watched TV and took a short nap before we set out for dinner. The hotel itself has many restaurants but we wanted to walk about and see what else was nearby.

The hotel was bordered by beautiful parks on three sides. We were less than 5 minutes away from the Dammtor station and the University of Hamburg, and more importantly, just a walkable kilometer away from the start and finish lines.

Vapiano is a popular cafeteria-style Italian restaurant for university students, locals, and tourists. They give you a card when you enter and you line up in front of your preferred entree. What I love about this concept is that everything is cooked right before your eyes and they use the freshest ingredients possible. My chef plucked basil right from the little plant in front of him. When he finished cooking my Estiva pasta, he asked me to put my card on the sensor so he can add my meal to the bill.

Richard ordered a margharita pizza with freshly-made dough. We arrived during the peak dinner rush so his pizza came late. When the young cashier found out that his dinner was delayed, he took 50% off the cost of the pizza, a gesture we really appreciated.

Breakfast buffet was at 7:00 AM and the variety of choices passed Richard’s exact standards, especially with the unlimited bubbly available!

The Haspa Marathon Hamburg started at 8:50 AM for wheelchair participants and 9:00 AM for the marathon and marathon relay participants. The race was capped at 12,000 participants with a 6:30 time limit and goes by the theme, Run the Blue Line. The blue line refers to the official course marker painted on the street that we all followed along.

The race was definitely well planned. The race started and finished in the same area where we picked up our race bibs. The organizers warned the participants not to pee in public at the risk of being slapped with an administrative offense so they had porta potties at every kilometer, an unusual amenity in a major race.

The race is flat and meanders through some of the most scenic parts of the city. Hamburg prides itself as having more bridges than Venice and Amsterdam combined, and it is easy to see why.

Richard took some photos of the area while waiting for me.

I normally use the work phone for photos but Richard bought me a new iPhone so I can now take better ones. Here are a few of them taken along the route.

Almost all of the music spots were drum lines. The aid stations had plenty of water, Dextro energy drinks and gels, and bananas. Massage stations were available starting at the 30K mark.

The weather was fickle that day. We had sun, rain, hail, clouds, and wind. I wore a Nike long-sleeved zip-up shirt, a Brooks vest  and I’m glad I kept my plastic bag on top of it the whole time. A runner commented that I must be hot wearing all these gear. I responded that it was actually perfect because I get cold easily.

It was nice to get the red-carpet treatment at the finish chute. I walked a bit more to get my race medal. I did not get finisher freebies further down the area because I took a shortcut to meet up with Richard.

Richard led me through the park back to our hotel. They allowed us a late checkout at no extra charge, yay! With the extended time, I was able to take a shower, rest a bit, and take the train back to the airport. There, we took a post-race photo in front of a lust-worthy BMW i8 on display at the airport.

We were back in Brussels a little past 8:00 PM and home by 9:30 PM.

Richard’s photo of the Arc de Triomphe in the center of Place Charles de Gaulle

The 40th edition of the Paris Marathon was probably the biggest to date with 54,000 runners from 149 countries. A quarter of the participants were female runners which made this race a male-dominated competition. Heat was a big deciding factor for runners hoping to PR. Unlike last year’s mild temperature, it was hot this year!

The adventure began with first class seats on the two-hour intercity train from the French town of Maubeuge to Paris Gare du Nord on Saturday, April 2, 2016. Maubeuge is only a few minutes from our house over the French-Belgian border. From Gare du Nord, it was 30 minutes to the marathon expo on the  metro. The ticket office was closed so we lined up to purchase metro tickets at the ticket booth. A guy came up to us and offered to help us. He wanted to charge us 35€ for a 7,80€ for two round trip tickets! Be very, very careful with people offering to assist you because their goal is really to scam people, even seasoned travelers like us.

Paris is such a beautiful, international, and cosmopolitan city but heed the advice for safe traveling. Just like other cities that are huge tourist draws, Paris also teems with scammers, scalpers, and con artists everywhere. The trains let off a massive wall of people every single time, so be careful of pickpockets at train stations as well.

Anyway, we took the metro purple line 4 in the direction of Marie de Montrouge and got off (16 minutes, 14 stops) at Gare Montparnasse-Bienvenue to transfer to the metro green line 12 in the direction of Mairie d’Issy. We got off (7 minutes, 6 stops) at Porte de Versailles and crossed the street to the Parc des Expositions.

This race requires a valid medical certificate dated within  the last year. After submitting my medical certificate, I claimed my bib envelope and went to another station to pick up my loot bag.

My 80€ registration fee included the runner’s bib, green ASICS backpack, a sachet of Tiger Balm, a small pack of pistachios, a snack pack of candies, a blister packet, and a whistle.  They were also giving away Haribo gummies at one of the expo booths. I received my finisher’s shirt and the medal after I crossed the finish line.

I knew race day was going to be warmer so we stopped at one of the expo booths and bought a couple of Buff UV headwear and a white summer runner’s cap.

From Porte de Versailles, we took the green metro line 12 again, this time in the direction of Aubervilliers/Front Populaire and got off (17 minutes, 13 stops) at Concorde. The yellow metro line 1 to La Défense/Grand Arche made 6 stops in 8 minutes before we reached our destination, the Porte Maillot metro station.

Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile is a four-star hotel right in the heart of Paris. We have stayed in better rooms for less money but our club room had the view of the iconic Eiffel Tower which was simply breathtaking. Our room on the 31st floor also included access to the Club Lounge a floor below, buffet breakfast and Wi-Fi. The cocktail hour included finger foods, unlimited wines and Louis Roederer Brut Premier champagne.

We arranged for a 2:00 PM late checkout the next day. Richard took several photos of the views from our hotel room at different times of the day.

The alarm went off at 8:00 AM on Sunday, April 3rd and breakfast was at the club lounge. We were out the door by 9:30 AM. The hotel’s strategic location meant we only have to walk a few minutes to the start and finish lines.

Richard has a keen interest in sports cars. This car displayed in a dealership along the road intrigued him:

The elite runners started running at 8:45 AM while my corral was scheduled for 10:15 AM. It was actually 10:30 AM when I crossed the starting line and started running. Yup, it was warm right at the start but I was all covered up. I wore an Under Armour long-sleeved shirt so my arms won’t burn.

This was a loop race and the course was not flat. Both kilometer and mile markers were placed prominently on the sides of the road.

There are so many things to like about this race. The whole of Paris seemed to have turned out to cheer us on. It felt like one giant street party! The bands and groups providing the entertainment were varied, vividly colorful, and just exuberant! The fire department was  stationed at many locations to hose us down and keep us cool. The food and drinks at the aid stations were plentiful. I remember getting isotonic drinks at one station in the later part of the race but there were plenty of Vittel water, bananas, oranges, sugar cubes, and raisins. They were also giving out gels at a couple of the stations.

I melted along the route but finished the race. The ambulances were ubiquitous. Avenue Foch was closed off and used as the finishing chute and it was a long walk dodging finishers who were walking slowly, limping, or just sprawled on the road to rest and recover. I met Richard at the Arc de Triomphe with our overnight luggage and began our mad dash to make our 5:19 PM train back to Maubeuge.

The train ride itself did not take long but searching for the correct platform, the queuing, and the waiting between transfers ate up precious time. We went to the Charles de Gaulle Etoile station and took the RER A train  in the direction of Marne-la-Vallée and got off (6 minutes, 2 stops) at Châtelet Les Halles. We boarded the RER B train in the directioin of Aéroport Charles de Gaulle and after one stop, we were back at Gare du Nord.

Gare du Nord is huge and there are few train personnel to help and point people in the right direction. We were not about to ask just anybody for assistance knowing scammers were ubiquitous as well. We finally found platform 15 and got on our train with two minutes to spare. It was time to relax and clean up from the race.

The Vieux Port is still an active fishing port, with fishermen hawking the fresh catch of the day.

Marseille is the third biggest city in France, but it is more famous for having the biggest port in the country. Running a marathon here gave me the opportunity to see this Provencal city up close and personal.

Our Ryanair flight arrived at the MP2 terminal of the Aeroport Marseille Provence before 9:00 AM. We were surprised to find that Marseille has immigration control and we had to show our passports. No other French city we have visited in the past had this checkpoint. Is this is part of a new security check or border control system?

We walked to Halls 3 and 4 to board the airport shuttle for the main train station Saint Charles. The shuttle leaves every 15 or 20 minutes and takes 25 minutes to reach the city center. From Saint Charles, we took the metro line 1 in the direction of La Fourragere. After two stops, we were at Vieux Port. We paid 18,20 euros in total to include airport shuttle and metro tickets.

We made a beeline for the Hotel de Ville or the city hall to show my medical certificate and claim my bib for the Run in Marseille Marathon 2016. All French marathons require a copy of a current medical certificate that specifically states the athlete has no contraindications for participating in running competitions.

The marathon pavilion was in front of the city hall. It is also where the finish line is located. The goodie bag consisted of the race T-shirt, a bottle of water, two mini packs of Haribo gummies, a Deloitte Consulting sweat band, and a variety of discount coupons.

Vieux Port, or the Old Port of Marseille, is shaped like a sideways horseshoe. The Vieux Port metro is in the toe area and the Hotel de Ville in the upper quarter. After claiming my bib, we walked to the lower quarter area to get to our hotel Radisson Blu Hotel Marseille Vieux Port.

We were upgraded to a business suite facing the port. The suite was not ready for us yet so we decided to get something for breakfast. We ate at the Italian restaurant Delarte by the metro exit.

We explored a little bit of downtown Marseille for the afternoon. Vieux Port is still an active fishing port and the fishermen were selling the fresh catch of the day.

My favorite makeup store Sephora called my name as we were walking around the shopping area and I couldn’t resist playing with her new stuff. Richard parked himself in the makeover seat while I sampled and tested face products. We walked away with just a small makeup purchase.

Richard’s brother-in-law owns a big boat in Ohio and we know he would love looking at the boats in Vieux Port. Richard checked out some of the nicer ones before he found a boat he thinks will be in his price range if he ever decides to buy one.

We stopped at the supermarket Monoprix to get bottled water and yogurt and went back to the hotel to unpack and relax a bit.

By early evening, we were ready for dinner. We looked at the menus of several restaurants before we settled on one with shabby chic interiors. We were in Marseille so of course we had to try the authentic Provencal cuisine! Richard ordered the traditional fish stew, fisherman’s bouillabaisse. They fry the fish first before they put this in the stew. I was carbing up for the race so I ordered the seafood pasta.

Richard likes salmon but is not much of a fish eater. The local bouillabaise is probably an acquired taste. We switched plates and polished off the meal with a bottle of the local Provencal wine.

The race was on Sunday morning. By 7:00 AM, the last of the runners had boarded the buses at Vieux Port and were transported to the start line 25 minutes away at Les Goude. They were giving away Zurich plastic raincoats for the cold weather and I was able to snag two! When we arrived at Les Goude, people were milling about or staying warm at the cafe cheekily named 2000 Lieues Sur la Biere. The cafe and the race organizers offered free continental breakfast for the runners: breads, jams, and coffee. Very nice and thoughtful indeed.

Less than a thousand runners toed the line at 8:00 AM. Much like the Nice-Cannes Maritimes des Alps Marathon, a big part of the route was beside the water, providing a calming and meditative scenery. There was plenty of volunteers at the refreshment stations. They offered water, bananas, oranges, dried apricots, and sugar. They did not offer sports drinks.

This marathon is only on its third edition and has lots of potential. It was very organized with the spectators very encouraging. The course has a part where we ran two loops. It was at this part where two men checked on me. They both started talking in French so I said to both: “Parlez vous anglais? Je parle francais un peu.” (Do you speak English? I speak French a little). The first guy ran with me for a while and asked me if I am okay and if I needed anything. I said no so after a while, he ran faster and caught up with another runner probably to ask the same thing. The second guy was on a bicycle and told me he saw me before and asked me if I was in my second loop. I said yes so he replied okay and wished me luck.

Both loops passed by our hotel so Richard took photos of me on my first loop from our hotel balcony and was waiting for me at the finish line when I called him to let him know I was close to the end.

The finisher’s medal is beautiful. It was designed like a stopwatch with accents of Provencal blue. The organizers gave the finishers lots of goodies too. Aside from my medal, they gave me two pairs of running socks, 3 bags of chips, water, a flavor concentrate for the water, and a big Haribo happy box. They probably would have given me more goodies if they saw I could still carry more but I couldn’t.

We stayed an extra night in Marseille. We walked back to the hotel to clean up and take a quick nap. We woke in time for the 7:00 PM Palm Sunday mass at the nearby Eglise Saint-Ferreol les Augustins. It was an hour and a half long concelebrated mass with four priests and the auxiliary bishop of Marseille. We stopped at Delarte again for a chicken pizza dinner before returning to the hotel.

We woke up late on Monday morning. After a leisurely breakfast, we stopped at the rooftop grill bar so Richard could take photos of the views. We started our journey back to Brussels in plenty of time.

Richard took this beautiful photo of the National Palace (Palau Nacional)

An overnight stay is just not enough time for Barcelona, one of the most visited cities in Europe, but this weekend was basically a quick run and return trip.

We flew into Barcelona from the Brussels Zaventem Airport on a Vueling Airlines flight on Saturday, March 12th. After almost an hour of delay, our 3:30 PM flight landed past 6:00 PM at Barcelona-El Prat Airport. We had to get to the Marathon Expo at Fira Barcelona which was only open until 8:00 PM. We hustled to get to the Aerobus A1 to take us to Plaza Espana 25 minutes away. Bus fare was 5.90 € per person. Plaza Espana was the first stop and we got off right in front of Fira Barcelona with less than an hour to go before the expo closing time.

The Marathon Expo was still in full swing when we got inside. I liked the layout of this expo. The bib pick-up was right at the entrance compared to other expos where you have to meander through the halls first before you can get your bib. I think getting the bib first is more efficient since the athlete gets that worry out of the way and can get on with browsing and shopping at leisure.

Since I was one of the last remaining runners to get the bibs, I did not get any goody bag. I only got the bib and the runner’s shirt. Oh well, lesson learned for arriving late. The most important thing was the bib with its disposable timing chip – and the very nice carnation pink runner’s shirt. I also claimed our Hola BCN Travel Cards which I ordered online for $28 for use with all public transportation in the city for the next two days.

I bought a couple of bags of Aptonia fruit chews before we had to leave already. We exited the hall into the street facing the Palau de Congresos building. We stopped for a few minutes to watch the light and color show of the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc (Font Màgica de Montjuïc) around the corner. There were lots of people watching the show and we found out this show is only on Fridays and Saturdays every 30 minutes starting at 7:00 PM from February 18th until March 31st, and at 9:00 PM starting April 1st.

It was only a 350 meter walk from the Magic Fountain to the 4.5 star Crowne Plaza Fira Center, the official race hotel. I am always excited to see what our hotel room looks like wherever we are, and tonight was no exception.

We stayed in a spacious deluxe room with two double beds. The room came with complimentary bottled water and coffee making facilities. It was the first time for me to use the sleep aid spray, a hotel freebie mix of frankincense and eucalyptus that you spray on the pillows and apply on your temples. The spray did not work for me but I appreciated the hotel’s attention to detail. Richard, as usual, spent time searching for English-speaking news channels. Most hotels in Europe do not carry CNN. Instead, they have BBC. Unlike our hotel in Sevilla, Crowne Plaza did not offer the free Playboy channel.

We were famished by the time we dropped our carry-on luggage at the hotel and headed out to the Las Arenas Shopping Mall, a former bull ring converted into a trendy shopping mall. Dinner was at Gustos Barcelona inside the mall. We both ordered the house specialties. I ordered the parcellada and Richard went for the arroz negro. I liked his choice better but we had no problem eating everything. We were that hungry.

Hunger satiated, we then set out to take some pictures of Barcelona. We posed for selfies at the roundabout at the Fira Barcelona Center and the Las Arenas Shopping Mall. It was getting late but I really wanted to see the Sagrada Familia Basilica. We got on the Metro Line 2 going to Fondo and got off at Universitat three stops away. We changed to Line 1 going to Badalona Pompeu Fabra and reached our destination after four stops. We used our Hola travel cards for the Metro with no problems.

The Sagrada Familia Basilica is overwhelming up close with its intricate building details. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, a Gothic cathedral in a perpetual state of construction since 1882. The basilica is finally expected to be finished in 2026. We were too late to get inside but we got to have our picture taken outside. We took the metro again and headed back to the hotel to call it a night.

Crowne Plaza opened the breakfast buffet area at 6:00 AM, an hour early for the runners. Richard was pleased to know that champagne was available for breakfast. Okay, sparkling wine. I better stop saying champagne when the wine is not from the Champagne region of France. It’s more posh to say champagne though, isn’t it?

Zurich Barcelona Marathon 2016 is a bronze label IAAF road race with a six-hour time limit. 20,340 runners gathered at the Avinguda Maria Cristina by the Fira Barcelona Center. Because Crowne Plaza was just a few meters from the race start area, we left the hotel past 8:00 AM and had no problems getting to my rose corral. There were six corrals where runners had to line up based on their declared Personal Best (PB) times.

My corral finally got to the starting line 20 minutes after runners in the first corral took off at 8:30 AM. The race route was well marked and because of the sheer number of people running, it was impossible to make a wrong turn, which I’ve done in some past races. Runners can also follow the blue line on the pavement that marked the official race route. The route has very gentle rolling hills which provided interest and challenge to some runners.

The refreshment stations were well stocked. Water, energy drinks, bananas, oranges, nuts, and raisins were available. Three stations offered my favorite Gu gels. Tents beside the refreshment stations provided first aid, Vaseline and physiotherapy. Two points along the race had showers but it was too cold and most runners in front of me avoided these areas. I was cold even with my Adidas wool knit shirt and I wore my plastic bag cover until I was 2/3 into the race.

There were interesting sights along the course. We ran by the Camp Nou Football Stadium, home of the popular Spanish football club FC Barcelona,  after 6K and the Sagrada Familia at the 16K mark. It was hard to miss the Sagrada Familia from afar at the 35K mark; it dominated the skyline in the area. We also ran under the Arc de Triomf, a huge access gate built for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair. The crowds were very enthusiastic and the 47 animation points or the musical groups provided entertainment to both runners and spectators.

While waiting for me, Richard took some photos of the Fira Barcelona area.

I crossed the finish line and after getting my finisher’s medal, proceeded to get water and some oranges. A volunteer dressed me in the blue Zurich Insurance plastic rain coat to keep warm. Richard met me past the finish corral and we walked back to the hotel.

I think I love Crowne Plaza. They let us stay until 3:00 PM with no additional charge! I was able to shower and wash my hair with no rush. We walked back to Plaza Espana to get on Aerobus 1 which took us directly to Terminal 1 of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport. Our Vueling Airlines flight at 6:05 PM was also delayed. We arrived in Brussels past 9:00 PM.

Yes, this trip was too short and that’s why we plan to visit again very soon. That, and hopefully run the next Barcelona marathon.

Valletta, the capital of Malta. In the foreground is a luzzu, traditional Phoenician boats now being used as cruise boats for tourists.

I chose Malta as our next marathon destination for its warm climate, intriguing history, and an interesting race route. I was not disappointed.

We headed for the Brussels International Airport immediately after work on Friday, February 26, 2016. Richard and I took the hour-long train instead of our car in order to escape the Belgian ring traffic jam during peak hours. Learned that expensive lesson when we missed our flight to Nice last November despite a three hour lead time.

We got to the airport in plenty of time to check in and browse the duty free shops. I noticed Belgian airports now do not announce the departure gates until 15 minutes before boarding time. Or maybe they do this only with smaller airlines? When they finally do, people make a mad dash to the gates in order be ahead in the line and be assured of overhead cabin space.

Our Air Malta flight left at 7:50 PM and landed at 10:35 PM. I planned for a bus to take us to the city centre. When I saw a representative of the http://www.maltatransfer.com website standing at the counter, I went over and asked him how much the shared shuttle ride would cost. He quoted me 14 euros for both of us, two euros cheaper than the online quote of 16 euros. While he was finishing my transaction, I made small talk and asked him about the languages spoken on the island. “We speak Maltese and English,” he answered. “As a matter of fact, we are more English than the English themselves,” he added in his crisp British accent.

The van dropped off the English couple we shared the ride with first before we reached our destination. The Palace Hotel Sliema was one of three five-star hotel sponsors of the marathon.

The hotel upgraded us to a superior room with a balcony on the fifth floor. A fresh fruit platter and a bottle of Maltese wine helped us unwind and settle in for the night quickly.

I woke up early Saturday morning with a massive headache and a clogged nose. Uh oh, this is so not acceptable! Despite my photos, I actually don’t drink so it’s not a hangover. I quickly took the cold medicine and went back to bed to let the medicine do its magic. Still not feeling any better, I rolled out of bed later at 9:00 AM so we can go to breakfast.

The hotel served a good breakfast selection. They also provided champagne, always a good sign a hotel takes good care of their guests. I was determined to shake off the cold so we went out and walked 500 meters to the Sliema Ferry Terminal to get a visual of the end of the race.

Malta is an intriguing densely-packed island nation in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. There are 360 churches, one for every 1,000 people. It’s like a rock, but it has enough land to develop its own vineyards and make its own wine. The people also drive on the other side of the road.

It seemed to be a favorite retirement and vacation destination of the British people. The accent was everywhere we went, and British high street brands were all over the place. We stopped at the Inglot makeup store to try out and buy their HD Illuminizing Loose Powder. I may be sick but I can still shop!

We stopped by Scott’s Supermarket around the corner from the hotel to buy water and other provisions. A long nap followed and we woke up to walk about 1.5 kilometers for the bib pick-up at 6:00 PM at Le Meridien in Saint Julian’s Bay, the race headquarters.

Richard was ecstatic to know there was no marathon expo this time so no shopping! It was strictly a bib and transportation ticket pickup. The pickup was only available from 6:00 to 9:30 PM on Friday and Saturday. There was a long snaking line of people waiting for their turn by the time we got there. I sat down and rested while Richard took care of my bib.

Bib in hand, we walked back to our hotel and attended the mass service at 7:30 PM at the Parish Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea, or more popularly called the Stella Maris Church. The service was in Maltese, a language that sounded Italian with some English words thrown in.

The Stella Maris Church, the oldest church in Sliema and Gzira, is just a block away from the hotel so after the mass we went to the top floor of the hotel to try their fusion restaurant, Temptasian, for dinner. It was fully booked so they recommended the breakfast restaurant. We settled for a nice seafood buffet with a bottle of red or white wine and a bottle of still or sparkling water for 31 euros each.

I woke up on race morning feeling just a tad better but determined to run this race. The 31st Vodafone Malta Marathon 2016 promised to be an interesting race with a downhill slope and a 5:30 hour time limit. It was in the back of my mind that I might not be well enough to finish a marathon, but I wanted to at least try and run parts of it.

The buses picked us up at 6:00 AM at the Sliema Ferry Terminal to bring us to start line in Mdina, a fortified city and the former capital. We started at exactly 7:30 AM with less than a thousand runners doing the marathon. There were about 4,000 runners in total with the bulk of the participants doing the half marathon, walkathon and 10K.

I was not expecting to run a faster race but the strong winds and the swirling dust negated any advantage of the downhill slope. There were time limits at certain checkpoints. We had to reach the 15K  mark by 9:30, 21K by 10:15, 32K by 11:30, 35K by 12:00 and the 38K by 12:30. Aid stations were positioned every 5K. There were two Powerade stations, four sponge stations and one orange fruit station. We went through several areas and cities before we finished at the Sliema Ferry Terminal. Overall, it was a very well organized race.

Richard took some pictures of the area while he waited for me to cross the finish line.

We met at the finish line and walked back to the hotel together. I cleaned up quickly and we paid the taxi 23 euros to take us back to the airport 25 minutes away. The afternoon throng of travelers had not arrived yet so our check-in and security check went smoothly. While waiting for our 4:00 PM flight, Richard bought me a Maltese silver knight at the gift shop. He knew I would love it since our school mascot is the knight. That little knight now stands proudly in my office to protect me.

Winter in Europe is almost over and what better way to celebrate the promise of spring than with a marathon in Spain?

We did just that with the Zurich Maraton de Sevilla 2016! We hopped on a Ryanair flight from the Brussels South Charleroi Airport to Sevilla on a Thursday evening. The flight took two and a half hours and we landed in balmy weather at Aeropuerto de Sevilla. We had a choice of taking a 25 euro cab ride for 25 minutes or a 4 euro bus ride to the old town for 45 minutes. We took the mass transportation option and got off at the sixth stop, Torre del Oro. We walked about 700 meters to get to our home for the weekend.

EME Catedral Hotel is a luxurious accommodation right in front of Cathedral de Sevilla and Giralda Tower. Two glasses of champagne waited for us as we completed our registration and the concierge gave us a personalized tour of the hotel facilities. We were amazed at the conversion of an old building into a five star hotel. The architects really did an excellent use of space. Rooms on the same floor were not at the same level. You had to go up or down four to five steps to get to your room. Loved our room on the third floor with three small balconies overlooking the street cafes and restaurants. The only negative is that the locals and the tourists like to party deep into the night and the revelry  filtered through the double glazed windows. The hotel staff was extremely young, hip, and beautiful. I wonder if they hired people older than 30?

The hotel seemed to have an unlimited supply of champagne. They also gave us a voucher for a free bottle of champagne if we dined at one of their restaurants so of course we couldn’t pass this up! We had margarita pizza and risotto mushroom at their Italian restaurant Ostia Antica.

The main goal on Friday after breakfast was to pick up my bib for the race. Yes, champagne was also served for breakfast!

Intrepid explorers that we are, we walked 27 minutes along narrow alleys and main roads to get to the main train station, Estacion de Santa Justa. Train schedules can be found here. We paid 1.40 euros each to get on the C4 line to Palacios de Congresos one stop away. We were there when the marathon expo opened at 10:00 AM so we did not have to fight the crowd.

The goody bag included two chicken soup in Tetra packs, two instant noodles, 1 Cruz Campo lemon drink in can, a New Balance Sevilla Marathon windcheater, and a 30% discount coupon for Compex merchandise. The finisher shirt was being sold separately for 10 euros. I already have way too many race shirts so I decided not to buy one.

I love to browse through the items available for purchase at the marathon expo. I get to see the latest running and fitness gear in the market. If I’m lucky, I am able to buy new stuff at a discount. The marathon expo did not do much damage to Richard’s pocket this time but I did get a new Kalenji race belt in pink, some Aptonia chews and magnesium tablets.

Bib in hand, we took the train back to the main station Santa Justa and this time took a cab for 7 euros back to the hotel. We walked around the vicinity and attended mass at the Capilla Mayor of the Cathedral de Sevilla at 6:00 PM. Even though the mass was in Spanish, some of the words were similar to Tagalog and Waray and the order of the mass is universally the same anywhere in the world.

The Giralda Tower of the Sevilla Cathedral in Spain.

The Cathedral de Sevilla is a massive church. The cathedral chapter in 1401 decided to build a church so big that those who see it will think them mad! Indeed it is the third largest cathedral in the world, behind Saint Peter’s in Vatican city and Saint Paul’s in London. You can read more about Sevilla on this site.

Saturday was a leisure day. I decided to do a quick run at the hotel gym while Richard went to the rooftop restaurant and took photos of the panoramic views.

After breakfast at the hotel, We walked along the nearby street in front of the Unibersidad de Sevilla and took our time at the Alcazar Palace and its beautiful gardens. Fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones will be familiar with the gardens since they were used as the locations for some of the scenes.

We bought some water and yogurt at the corner store MAS which, according to the concierge, was hard to miss since it is in front of the red church. The red church turned out to be the Iglesia de El Salvador, a former mosque and now a Baroque Roman Catholic church. The square outside the church was packed with all sorts of people drinking and socializing in the middle of the day.

We attended another mass in Seville at the Iglesia de El Salvador at 8:00 PM on Saturday. We got there just when a wedding ceremony was ending. Richard took some photos of the vintage Citroen bridal car and the scenes outside the church where a pair of beautiful flamenco dancers was performing for the crowd.

It was Sunday morning before we knew it. Breakfast was not served until 8:00 AM so I just ate my favorite chocolate bread from Carrefour and got dressed for the race. We were out on the streets waiting for a cab at 7:15 AM to take us to the start line at Cartuja but it was tough to get one. The street outside our hotel was littered with runners trying to do the same thing. We found out later that half the cabs were off the streets because of the marathon. We ended up sharing a cab with another Spanish couple and gave them 10 euros as our fare share.

We arrived at the start line with plenty of time to use the porta potties and get to the correct corral. The early morning was nippy at 9 degrees Celsius. I wore my Adidas wool running shirt, a garbage bag and a Nike jacket to keep me warm. I also wore my neon Craft running cap and a Brooks beanie. The Zurich Maraton de Sevilla is a bronze IAAF race which categorizes it as a mega marathon in the league of Venice Marathon and Marathon des Alpes-Maritimes Nice-Cannes. The race was capped at 13,000 runners with a 6-hour time limit. At exactly 9:00 AM, the start gun went off and the elite athletes  were off and running.

It took about 4 minutes before the general masses and weekend warriors like me reached the starting line. I intended to take advantage of the generous time limit so I eased into an easy rhythm right from the start. The aid stations were spaced 5 kilometers apart. They had water and the Aquarius sports drink. Bananas and  oranges were available at the 25 Km, 35 Km, and 40 Km aid stations. Sponges were also available to cool people down, especially when the temperature reached 24 degrees Celsius by noon. The Spanish spectators were kind and very encouraging. They shouted encouragements like “vamonos!” and “venga, guapa!” even if my face was covered up with my buff and sunglasses.

The race was billed as the flattest marathon in Europe and the course was indeed generally flat. We passed by some of the most popular tourist attractions along the route. I had to stop for a few beats and just gaze at the immense Plaza de Espana at the 37 Km mark. This huge square was used for some of the scenes for Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones. You can find more information about the race here.

Photo taken from the website: http://www.sevillaonline.es/english/seville/plaza_de_espana.htm

Photo taken from the website: http://www.sevillaonline.es/english/seville/plaza_de_espana.htm

The best part of any race is crossing the finish line. The Estadio Olimpico was a beautiful sight. Richard and I agreed he will wait for me at the hotel because of the difficulty of getting a cab in the morning. After getting my finisher’s medal, I continued walking through the finish area until I got out of the stadium. I had to ask for directions to the train station which, fortunately, was right outside the stadium. I took the train to the main station Santa Justa and grabbed a cab to take me back to the hotel.

Our Ryanair flight back to Belgium was not until 8:05 PM so we opted for a late check-out with an additional charge of 50 euros. I took a shower, got dressed, and ate a gelato before we were finally ready for the journey home. This time, we splurged on a 25 euro cab ride to the airport.