Navigation
Traveling Runner
Barcelona Marathon Is the Best
By Jerry Lewis and Ann Belkov
Barceloma, Spain
March 6, 2011
For the Washington Running Report
The 33rd Barcelona Marathon on March 6, 2011 was a marvelous race, a fast, fabulous course with great crowd support, perfect running weather and well-trained volunteers. 15,000 runners were registered. It was the city's largest race ever.
Barcelona is a lively city that offers the art of its famous native sons, Antoni Gaudi, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miro, as well as wonderful narrow alleys to prowl, a Gothic old town quarter, museums, palaces, cathedrals, ubiquitous tapas bars – and, yum, a chocolate museum.
Every spring, the Cairo Maadi Runners Club, of which we are alumni, schedules a “Reunion Marathon” at a different European city. Some past marathon cities were Milan, Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Prague, Madrid, Rome, Paris, and Vienna. (We were also there!)
Twenty-six current and expatriate alumni runners came to Barcelona from a dozen countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and of course, from Egypt. Former American club members came from Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. Only we two came from the U.S. (Reston, Virginia) and were part of the support group of 13 friends and family. Seven of the runners came to do their first marathon.
Those that came from Cairo had gone through the stress of the 24/7 Egypt Revolution that started on January 25 and lasted 18 days. The revolution overlapped with their peak training period. The Egyptian runners' priority was to protest the Mubarak Government, daily, in Cairo's Tahrir Square – not to run long mileage preparing for the marathon. (But the Maadi Runners did run a victory lap around the square when Mubarak resigned.)
More than a dozen runners came from Cairo despite their lack of training and canceled international flights requiring frantic last minute re-bookings.
Runners enjoyed a dream course with only two small hills and a lovely 12-mile downhill stretch beginning at mile 10. Starting and ending at beautiful Plaza España, in front of the Monumental bullfighting ring that seats 20,000 aficienados, the course first passed the 100,000-capacity Camp Nou soccer stadium.
At the 10 kilometer point, runners looped back to the Plaza España and then along two major boulevards to enjoy views of Barcelona's most famous landmark buildings by famous local architect, Gaudi – the Pedrera apartment building (circa 1910) and the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) cathedral, under construction since 1883.
The course continued through wide boulevards and residential areas as far as the Plaza Glories with its huge colorful Agbar Tower building. From there, runners turned east to the coast and continued west along the Mediterranean Sea. Runners passed by beautiful beaches, extensive marinas jammed with scores and scores of luxurious yachts, and Twin Mapfre Towers before going inland to Plaza Cataluna.
At mile 22 was Las Ramblas, the world-famous shaded people-watching pedestrian walk with separate lively markets for flowers, pets and produce, performers and unique gilded human statues.
Las Ramblas ends at the port area where “Colon,” a statue of Christopher Columbus, atop a 200-foot high column, is pointing out to sea (but oddly not in the direction of America or India.) Then the course turns northwest aiming participants to the final stretch run to the Plaza España finish line.
The marathon was held during Mardi Gras week; groups drumming a lively basso nova beat encouraged runners to pick up their pace. Numerous bands and singers performed along the course. The people of Barcelona welcomed and embraced the runners with cheers, confetti, and applause.
Marathon organizers printed runners' first name in large letters on their numbered bib. That personal touch generated encouragement and light-hearted interaction between the crowds and the runners.
A couple of the Maadi Runners were in a virtual, separate race within the regular marathon. Mohsen Alashmoni from Cairo, and Danielle Mazars, from France, were the club's “slow ones,” the stragglers who ran “5-hour plus marathons.”
Those slower runners found supporting crowds had vanished; all bands and Mardi Gras dancers had packed up and gone home long before they came along. Sometimes water was exhausted and streets had been opened to traffic.
It was a lonely and painful run for the slow-moving runners whose pace kept them on the course hours longer than anyone else; they plod on and on – after all younger and fitter runners had finished. They deserved the extra applause they received for their courage, dedication, and endurance.
But for most participants, the course was fast. Perfect weather allowed for two or three Maadi Runners to earn PRs and for all seven Maadi Club marathon virgins to successfully complete their first race. Paulo De Santos, a virgin from Brazil, was the fastest Maadi Runner with a 3:15 time. Mohammed el Leathy, also a virgin, won the distinction to be “The Fastest Egyptian” in the Barcelona Marathon.The marathon winner, Levi Omari Matebo of Kenya, with a time of 2:07:31 came within 1-second of tying the course record (and thus missed winning a bonus 3,000 Euros prize; he collected only 7,000 Euros) and finished 3-minutes ahead of the second place Kenyan. The top five male finishers were all from Kenya.
Last year the top five male and female finishers were all from Kenya. But visa problems this year kept all elite Kenyan women from coming to Barcelona. With a women's course record of 2:30:08 in 1998, a Swedish woman, Josephine Ambjornsson came in first with a disappointing 2:45:31.
Maadi Runners thoroughly enjoyed the charm of Barcelona and the fun of a fast, well-organized marathon.
“It's the best,” said the runners. “We'll be back to Barcelona!”
But, they said, “Next spring, we're going to Washington, DC for the National Marathon.”