Just a few words to say that the RC team have successfully finished Almería half marathon. It´s a been a bit chilly and a little windy especially near the seafont where there were no buildings but we all managed to finish.
It´s been a pleasure to meet all of them and Andy´s wife, M. and take part all together at my local half. In one hour, we are going to have lunch at a restaurant.
Congrats everyone! Sounds like a fabulous time has been had by all - I sincerely hope someone remembered to take a camera?? A group shot would be just fab.
This has been a very intense and emotive weekend since I had the chance to meet a few forumites here in Almería where we all have taken part in my local half marathon.
On Saturday morning I went for a short slow run with another forumite from a Spanish forum http://WWW.carreraspopulares.com His name´s Sergio. We met at the Gran Hotel where he was staying and went along the sea front slowly. He´s from Valencia and is training for Valencia marathon on 20th February. He´s got a Forerunner and explained me how it works. The day was sunny and warm. In all, we did 5,8 kms in 38 minutes although we stopped to meet a friend of him who had also come from Valencia to take part at the half marathon. After doing some stretching and wishing each other good luck for the next day I went home for a shower.
In the afternoon, I went to the airport where I met the Running commentary team. The plane arrived a few minutes earlier than 4.20 pm, the scheduled arrival time. While I was waiting for them to come out, I talked to a couple from Kent who are living in Mojácar and who were waiting for a relative. We talked about the cold wave we´ve had in Spain, the coldest in twenty years. I looked at the people inside waiting for their luggage trying to recognise a group of six people, the RC team and Andy´s wife, M. Then, after a few minutes, I noticed some people coming out and smiling at me. They introduced themselves and we shook hands and kisses feeling very happy to meet them after so many months sharing our training and views on different topics. As Andy RC had booked a car we looked for the car rental office which, oddly enough, was in a van at the airport car park. As there was already a queue of a few people waiting for their car, we talked in the sunshine about the flight and other things. Besides, some photos were taken. Then, Andy SP, Sweder and Nigel came in my car and Andy RC, M. and Suzie went in Andy´s hired car. Instead of driving along the motorway, I took them along a local road by the sea with a beautiful view of the bay and showing them the sea front I usually go for a run when I have to do a long run. We got to Almería along an avenue with the blue and red lines that marked the half marathon course. We got to the hotel, gave them a bag with leaflets on Almería and its province and left for an hour so that they could rest for a while.
Later, at about seven pm I picked them up and took them to the stadium where we picked up the race numbers and a bag with a T-shirt, a key ring, a biro, a magazine and some leaflets. They also gave us a ticket for the pasta dinner which was going to be at the youth hostel, about two kilometres away from there. So, we went there but before we drove along the half marathon course, just one lap, so that they could have an idea of what it was like.
When we arrived at the youth hostel, we gave the tickets and they gave us a slip of paper for dinner. I told them to wait for me because I had to pick up my brother, Jose, my nephew, Luis and my niece, Elena, who are my sister´s children who is also my twin sister. When we arrived we took a tray to collect the meal, which consisted of spaghetti, chicken and salad and an apple. The food was all right but it was a bit uncomfortable since the youth hostel restaurant was too crowded. There, I met a few runners I know who were also taking part at the half marathon such as Felipe, who is also a teacher of English.
After that, we went to a café but before that I thought it would be interesting to take them out of the town to have a view of the whole town illuminated, especially the Alcazaba, an Arabic castle. I left my car at a car park and Andy left his at the hotel car park. Then we went to café Glady´s where we had some hot drinks while talked about the half marathon, football since Sevilla Barcelona was on TV and other topics. I wanted to pay for the drinks but Andy RC didn´t let me. Afterwards, we all left and walked to the car park where I had left my car which is very close to their hotel and agreed to meet them at their hotel the following morning to go in both cars to the stadium.
Dear Antonio, I'm sure I speak for all Team RC when I offer a thousand thanks to you, your friends and family for the most warm welcome this past weekend. We had the best time in Almeria, and it was mainly thanks to your preparation, hard work and planning.
No doubt you will see reports from the individual runners in the next few days.
Thank you again my friend, and I hope to see you when you come over for the Reading Half. S'tlogo!
Ash
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Antonio - This is just a quick message to say thank you for the very detailed report of Saturday´s activities, and for taking such good care of us over the weekend.
We left Almeria on Monday morning and drove out to Carboneras where we thought about staying. Eventually we went on to Mojacar where we found a hotel by the seafront. We´re going to stay here for a day or so before heading back to Almeria. Today we´re off along the coast, and plan to just mooch around. Wednesday morning we have an arrangement to meet with one of M´s friends though we´re having trouble finding where she wants us to be. Directions should be left to men I think....
We are not certain of our movements before we leave on Thursday afternoon, but I wondered if it might be possible to meet up briefly again before we go? Nigel came up with a great idea on Monday that I want to discuss with you. If you want me to come and talk to your students I can of course, though that´s your decision. I will try calling you later today (Tuesday).
I´ll be putting in a full report of the weekend in due course, but we had a great time, largely due to your kindness and helpfulness. Your brother-in-law Jose was great too. For the sake of those who weren´t there, Jose cycled round the half marathon course dispensing water, snacks and encouragement to all the team, and even took a load of photos too. I got a 4 or 5 minute PB, and was very happy with that.
Speak to you later Antonio,
Andy & M.
PS Oooops, I forgot to say how good it was to meet up with Nigel, Andy, Ash and Suzie. Good eggs one and all.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
Many thanks from me, too. It was a brilliant weekend, of which more later, no doubt. The thrill of running down the ramp into a major stadium for the finish of an international event (just a few metres behind Haile Gabreselassie) will stay with me for a very long time.
Thank you too, for very kindly forwarding the CD of race photos, which are great. Meanwhile, I have seen that there are also official race photos at this page: http://www.todofondo.com/medioalmeria/ under 'solicita tu foto'. I've attached the thumbnails here, with me and Ash, Suzie, Antonio and Andy. Sorry - there does not seem to be one of the Seafront Plodder up there yet, although here is an action shot out on the course instead. As you can see, he's still in the lead in the tightly fought run-up to the Mediterranean Stadium at this point.
Anyway, I tried to order a JPG of my finish photo from that site (my race number was 915) but it seems to need a bank transfer for 4 Euro. I don't think that will work easily from the UK, but a credit card payment would be no problem. Do you have any suggestions on how to arrange that, please, Antonio ?
I´m glad you had a good time in Almería. It´s a pity that you came for only twenty-four hours. I´d like to have taken you to more places. I´m glad you arrived well in England. I expect Suzie gets to Canada today well.
Andy, it will be a pleasure to meet you before leaving. If you like, we can meet tomorrow afternoon where you are staying or anywhere you´d like to know in the province of Almería and have a merienda together. I´d love to hear about Nigel´s idea. Are you having a good time? I expect so. At least you´re lucky with the weather, much better than last Sunday. I´m looking forward to your phone call. Greetings to M.
It´s been a great pleasure to meet you all.
Saludos desde Almería
Antonio
PS. I haven´t finished the Sunday report.
Did you go to the Molly Malone? Did you go for a run along the seafronto on Monday morning?
The day had finally arrived. I had two oranges for breakfast at about eight and two cereal bars at half past eight. The weather was worse than the previous day. When I was going to the hotel, it started to hail a little and drizzle but it lasted only a few minutes. The sun didn´t know whether to shine or not. Actually, it was cloudy , a bit chilly and a little windy. I went to the hotel at 9.00 am. While a bellboy from the hotel took Andy´s car out, M., Andy´s wife, took us a photo and recorded us with a video camera. Each of us said something about our goals in this half marathon. As there had been a mistake with the car taken out, Andy and I went down with the lad from the hotel to take the car out. Finally, we all went towards the stadium. As there were a lot of cars already there, we had to park a bit far away. They all left their things in the cars but I decided to leave mine at the cloakroom since I sweat a lot and I wanted to put my sweatshirt on quickly after the race. We walked to the stadium and I looked for the cloakroom but it was difficult to find and when I got there there was a big queue and it was nearly ten o´clock. I was nervous but we were told that the race would start a few minutes later so that we all could go to the start line. At last, I could leave my bag and ran to the start where I met Andy RC, Andy SP and Suzie. While we were talking, Sergio, the young man from Valencia who I went for a run with on Saturday greeted me and introduced me to another member of the Spanish running forum. We wished each other good luck. Their aim was to do the half marathon under 1 hour 50 and actually they would. I also met my brother Jose, who was going on bicycle to help us if we needed some more water or cereal bars and to take some photos of us. I decided to run at a pace that I felt comfortable with the aim of doing it under two hours although it was a bit unrealistic since I haven´t been able to train much due to injury or illness during the last two months. The first three kilometres were fast since it was downhill. When I passed near my flat, I greeted my wife who was looking out of the window. When we got to the Rambla, there were two kilometres uphill. In this part of the course there were a lot of people cheering. M was there recording the race and when she saw me, she cheered me a lot. I met a few runners. For some of them, this was their first half marathon and were a bit anxious because they weren´t confident about finishing it. I told them not make a big effort at the beginning but if they felt well, they could go faster the last kilometres. One of them was from Burgos but lived in Adra, a little town in the province of Almería. Another one was from Almería but lives in Jaén. We talked about the cold wave and the problems with the frozen pipes in Jaén with plumbers doing their August, making a fortune. I took a bottle of water at each drink station. The next two kilometres were downhill. I met another man from Sevilla. He must be around sixty years old. He told me that he had come with only five or six days training but he had done a half marathon in 1 hour 30 minutes three years ago. He had also run several marathons such as Seville and New York but he had stopped running for a two years and now he had started again. Although I told him to take it easy to avoid injuries, he went down fast and I couldn´t keep his pace. I saw at La Rambla several colleagues from my secondary school who cheered me up and a student who took a picture of me. He was there because his father was taking part as well. After going down the Rambla, we reached avenida Cabo de Gata, which is quite flat. It is parallel to the seafront and protected from the wind by the blocks of flats. When I was in km 8 or 9 with another group of runners, we heard that Haile Gebreselassie was coming. It was great to see him overtake us while we were clapping at him. Later I saw Nigel and Sweder going back to the Rambla. We greeted and cheered each other. Then, I got to a roundabout next to the auditorium Maestro Padilla to go back to the Rambla again along avenida Cabo de Gata where I saw Suzie first, then Andy SP and later Andy RC. We also greeted and cheered each other. At avenida Cabo de Gata, I saw my sister María del Mar and my niece Elena cheering me. When I reached km 15, I noticed that I still kept the 5:40 km pace but I started to feel week. I remember a group of five runners reaching me and one of them told me to join them but I couldn´t follow them. I realised that I wouldn´t be able to lower my last year time because I felt a little weak. So, when I saw my brother taking a photo of me at the Cable inglés, an iron structure from the 19th century built by the British to carry mineral to the ships, I asked him to give me a cereal bar. Later, I had a one minute walk break. When we were near the roundabout again, the wind blew stronger since there were no buildings around. Then, I took Avenida del Mediterráneo uphill. It was nearly km 18. I told my brother to give me another bar of cereal and a bottle of water and took another one minute walk break. Although there were not many people in the avenues, they cheered us. I remember a few people at avenida del Mediterráneo cheering, saying Ánimo, campeón. Ya queda muy poco, which could be translated more or less as Courage, champion. It remains very little. When I got to Sierra Alhamilla road, Suzie reached me. It was wonderful to see her there. She was doing a very clever race, going from less to more just the opposite than me. I tried to keep her pace but I couldn´t so I wished her good luck and told her she could finish under 2 hours ten minutes, which she finally did. Then, I went on and reached the stadium where I saw Nigel and Sweder who cheered me a lot and told me I had to run a lap and a half. I thought it would be just two hundred metres not six hundred! I also saw Suzie getting to the finish while I still had to do one more lap. I was running a little behind a man with a hat. Then, Nigel and Sweder told me Come on, which gave me strength to overtake him finishing in 2 hours 11 minutes, a bit more than I´d expected but glad to finish without too much discomfort. Then, I gave my chip back and they gave me a bag. I went to meet Nigel, Sweder and Suzie and we saw Andy SP arriving in 2 hours 14 minutes and Andy RC in 2 hours 15 minutes. Sweder and Nigel had arrived together in 1 hour 54 minutes and Suzie in two hours 8 minutes. We all went to the athletes´ area where there were some drinks and other things. I picked up my bag and we all went to the cars talking about the race. After having a cereal bar, we left to get changed.
My brother Jose and I met them at nearly three o´clock at a restaurant by a marina. The members of the RC team were all wearing the T-shirt that we were given the previous day but I didn´t since I didn´t know they were going to wear it. They gave me a book called The Adventure of English with some sentences of dedication in English and Spanish and their signature. I thanked them a lot for their present. They also gave me some running magazines. We had paella for the first course and for the second course some of us chose cod with potatoes and others beef with vegetables. For dessert we had ice-cream or crême caramel. To celebrate we asked for a bottle of Catalan cava, similar to champagne. I really enjoyed the meal and after lunch chat. We had a very nice time talking about the race, marathons and other topics. Then, we left towards their hotel and said goodbye at about 6pm. They thanked me for everything but I said that it was me who thanked them a lot since they had decided to come to take part at my local half marathon, which had given us the chance to meet.
In the evening, I took them a CD with the photos my brother had taken since he had the idea that we could give them a copy to take home. Unfortunately, they were out of the hotel, so I just gave the receptionist the copies so that they could get them later.
It´s been a really great experience to meet you here. I expect we can have other gatherings anywhere in the future. It´s wonderful to be able to talk to people you´ve known through the internet. I´d like to thank you all for coming here. It´s a pity that it has been so short but it´s been worth while. I´d like to thank Andy RC for having created this website that has made possible to meet such wonderful people not only in the net but also in the real world.
Antonio, we did indeed complete our run on Monday as promised.
Andy SP, Nigel and myself went back to the Club del Mar and ran East along the seafront for 2.5 kilometres. We started around 10:30 am. The weather was lovely, sun shining, a light cool breeze blowing from the West. One or two local people shared the morning, jogging along with us.
Andy SP took some photos - I expect he will post these when he has caught up on his work. We spoke of your kind hospitality and dedicated our modest run in your name. At the end of the boulevard (just before the roadworks) we stopped to look back at Almeria and to the mountains beyond. We met a local couple, also out for a recovery run after the race on Sunday. The lady had finished in 1:42, a very good time. The man did not fare so well, having damaged his leg in the final kilometre and taken 5 minutes to complete the last 600 metres around the stadium.
We set off back towards the City at a very easy pace, watching people exercise their dogs on the sand. Just before the Club del Mar we noticed a nice looking cafe. We stopped and ordered coffee, enjoying the sunshine and (for us) a beautiful, warm January morning. SP ran to the sea and dipped his toes in the water . . . and came back very quickly, complaining that the Mediterranean was as cold as the English Channel. Ha!
Afterwards we strolled up the Rambla (of course I wanted to run but my colleagues threatened to throw me into the sea, so we walked) to join Suzie Q for a beautiful lunch at the street cafe near our hotel (just up the street from Gladys Bar). The waiter, an Egyptian gentleman, suggested a seafood platter - and what a fine suggestion this turned out to be! Baby squid, calamari rings, baby snapper, whelks, whitebait (the small fried fish that you told me about on Saturday night), Hake, Melutha and more. Quite the perfect end to our wonderful weekend in Almeria.
We did go to Molly Malones on Sunday evening. I insisted that we go to drink Guinness there, but when we entered we found very loud disco music playing, and we could not speak to each other. So, following my Guinness nose, I searched for another place. We walked across the Rambla and found the Automotiv Club, a small Bistro, that by happy chance also sold Guinness The atmosphere was much calmer, and we settled down for a few glasses followed by a bottle of fine Rioja and some Tapas, talking about running, movies, music and books, until one by one we succumbed to the rigours of the long, exciting day.
Later, after saying goodnight to Nigel, Suzie, Andy and M, Andy SP and I returned to Molly Malones. It was much quieter, so we spent several hours conducting vital research into the quality of the Guinness there.
I must say the Guinness in Molly's was superior by some margin
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
I´m glad you all had a good time on Sunday evening and Monday morning and enjoyed our specialities and other Irish ones. I´d love to have been with you plodding along the sea front on Monday morning, having lunch with you and having taken you to the airport but I had to work.
Thanks a lot, Ashley. Best of luck at Brighton half and London marathon. I expect to go some time to Brighton and plod along near the Royal pavillion and the pier. I liked Brighton a lot when I visited it many years ago.
Sorry, Nigel. I forgot to answer you. I´ve had a look at the way it can be done. I just need your e-mail address so that they can send you the photo. Send it to me in a private message and I´ll make the bank transfer. If the rest of the members are interested, just do the same. It will be a present from me to you all.
Well done all of you!! It sounds like a great race and weekend. I am quite jealous. Especially of Andy's result. He's widening the gap even further between our PBs.
Hey, I got a lovely diploma from the Almeria Medio Marathon organisers.
I've tried to attach a copy of the image. Nigel or Antonio, if you received the same message let me know what the accompanying blurb says please. I suspect it offers the chance to purchase the actual certificate, although I've managed to copy and save the image and may print a copy later.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
I allowed myself to give your race number and e-mail address so that you all could get the diploma. If you all want, I can pay for the photo, since if you do it from your country the bank commission would probably be higher than what it really costs. That way you all can have another souvenir from my local half marathon. Of course, it would be a present from me.
Another kind offer, Antonio.
Actually, I managed to save a copy of the image and now I have printed it, so no need to order a copy for me. Do you know how many people finished the race last Sunday?
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
This morning I went for a run along the seafront and it reminded me of your recovery run on Monday. I saw the café where I think you had a cup of coffee at the seafront. Café París.
Almería half marathon. 30th January 2006
The atmosphere was much calmer, and we settled down for a few glasses followed by a bottle of fine Rioja and some Tapas, talking about running, movies, music and books, until one by one we succumbed to the rigours of the long, exciting day.