The London Marathon, being the most famous in the UK (and one of the most famous worldwide), never really appealed to me for many reasons:
The Cost - the fact that the initial entry is on ballot so you may not secure a place to start with, there are the options of signing up with a charity to raise money whilst also putting up the entry cost.
Scope offer entry for £55.00 with the added £1950 to be raised in charity donations.
Child Reach International is a registration fee of £149 with a fundraising target of £3000. Now I am not against raising money for charity as I will be doing this for my run, but the thought of being pressured to raise a specific amount to quantify my entry seems a little strict.
There is then the added cost of travel to London and accommodation which increases around the Marathon time as one would expect.
The Numbers - In 2015, The London Marathon had predicted around 37,800 runners to be at the start line. Now I can imagine this is a pretty phenomenal event to be a part of, but how long does it take to filter out so you can actually start "running" the marathon? I thoroughly enjoy doing ParkRun on a Saturday morning and even though the numbers are significantly different, the initial skip and dodge to start hitting pace is always fun. The thought of doing this for a good few miles does not strike me as an enjoyable experience.
The Weather: Now, this is something that I should not be complaining about living in the North West of England. We very rarely see blue skies, only grey. The days of "that fine rain that soaks you through" are classed as Summer as opposed to the rest of the time it is just bucketing it down. If we get double digits on the thermometer then the string vests come out and rain coats are flung to the side. In The Big Smoke, the weather is significantly better, but as it is still in England, it is very unpredictable.
I am not looking for glorious sunshine and ridiculous heat, but a little less "weather" would be great.
The fact that everyone has done it: Every time I mention that I am training for a marathon (and being a runner, I mention this a lot, even if people don't ask!) they always say, "London?" It is assumed that every person who is training for a marathon that they will be doing the more famous ones. I like to be a little different, I like to say, "No, I have another in mind"
please note: This is just a bit of fun and I have nothing against London, The London Marathon, the money it raises for charity or English Weather, in fact I think it is a brilliant event (just not what I was looking for as my first)
So which Marathon do I have in mind?
Incorporating our
love of travel and my passion to see new places every year, I tasked my Holiday Genius Wife with a challenge of finding the right place and right time for a run, and she did not let me down.
The
Vodafone Malta Marathon is held in February on the tiny island stretching from the highest point to the marina bay on the other side of the country. 26.2 miles of beautiful little Maltese towns, villages and then finishing in a popular marina in Sliema.
The reasons I chose this marathon over the others?
The Cost: The entry fee for the Marathon is £24.00, and even including the £4 transport to the start it is not a bad asking price. I hear you saying, "yes, but you now have to get to Malta which will be expensive!". The flights, week holiday, accommodation with bed and breakfast and an upgrade to a Sea View top floor room has cost me £120. So for around about the same price as a London based run I am getting a week away on holiday with a scenic saunter around the country. I am happy with that.
The Numbers: Being a Star Wars geek I sent an email to the organisers asking if I could request Race Number 1138 (look it up if you are asking). An email came back moments later saying that unfortunately they could not offer this as the Marathon numbers only go up to 500. There are other competitors taking place with the Half Marathon and Walkathon on the same course, but I doubt numbers are going to hit much more than 1500 people on route.
The Weather: Malta in February is not flip flop weather, and the chance of light rain diminishes as the month progresses. Luckily the Malta Marathon is on the last day of February and in the past the weather has been around 13-14 degrees, comfortable running. This is the one thing that we definitely have no control over, as the weather can change just like the weather.
The fact that it is something different: I am looking forward to going to a country I have not been to before, seeing the sights and towns that I would probably not get a chance to see as a tourist and having a holiday after the event. I have always enjoyed runs in different countries, some of the ones that stand out to me are the Amalfi Coast Run and the Bridges of Budapest. The runs seemed less difficult as I was just amazed by the scenery and was distracted from the pain from my legs. I am joined on this holiday by my Ma 'n' Pa who are always up for a holiday and a couple of dear friends moved out to Malta last year to reside so I am sure they will be joining me for a celebratory drink as well.
So I now have my date, plan and marathon booked, there is only one thing that could stop me from entering...but that is for another post
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