It's getting towards that time of year again.
For anyone who's not been to Almeria, southern Spain, this is your golden chance to participate in a piece of annual RC mythology.
People are free to do what they want while there of course, but the general format in the 3 years we've been going is something along these lines:
Depart UK Saturday morning. (We've gone from Gatwick the last 2 years, which is handy for most of us, but there is a fear that this time around we may have to go from Stansted. So be it.)
Arrive bleary-eyed in Almeria, late morning. Met by Antonio, who takes us off somewhere for breakfast. Potter about for a couple of hours, then check into hotel. Last 2 years we've gone for the
Tryp Indalo, a modern 4 star hotel that's always very cheap in January.
Saturday evening: go to Almeria Stadium to collect race number and first part of the best goodie bag you'll ever receive. Get into the first sitting of the three course meal that comes as part of the race entry -- in the restaurant overlooking the pitch.
Waddle back to hotel.
Sunday morning: run the Almeria Half marathon. Two laps round the town, and an extended stretch along the seafront. Collect second half of the best goodie bag you'll ever receive.
Return to hotel for ablutions, then repair to hotel bar for an initial spot of rehydration. Obligatory "Here we are in Almeria" photographs near the seafront, all sporting Almeria Half teeshirts. Lunch at a local restaurant. Last year's was good, so perhaps we'll head back there. Eat heartily and guzzle a few beers while picking over the race highlights (for most), and listing excuses (in my case). Last year I was 4th last. This time around, I've rashly committed to coming in under 2 hours.
With a sigh of relief, Antonio releases himself from his duties around now, and returns home, leaving the rest of us to settle in for an evening of beer, televised football,
tapas and further extended race post-mortems. Some of us get mildly drunk. A visit to Molly Malone's for a few glasses of Guinness is mandatory.
Monday: after breakfast, go for very gentle run along the seafront to check if still alive. Lunch at a seafront café, then head back to hotel. Last year, an innovation that we've decided to repeat. Drive to some remote village on a local mountainside, and run down. I wasn't there, so can't fill in too many details. But a good time was had by all attendees last year, so I'll give it a go this time.
Monday evening: the last hurrah. We start off in the Irish bar again. By the time a nervous-looking Antonio arrives, we are already fairly...
happy. We visit a couple more bars, hoovering up
tapas and Rioja, just in case these delights are declared illegal the following day. We're obliged to relax a while in the legendary Bullfighter's Bar.
And that's about it, really. We return on Tuesday morning, slightly dazed.
We have a lot of fun, and quite a lot of beer. Astonishingly, the long weekend is actually quite cheap. The race costs around £4 to enter (yes, £4). We fly EasyJet for usually around £30 or £40. The very smart hotel is on low-season rates. Last year, it was barely £35 a night. Could have been less.
So.
Who's up for it?
Almeria Half 2008 - last weekend in January
