Mitja Marató de Barcelona
In only a couple of days thousands of runners will meet at the Arc de Triomf close to Parc Ciutadella to run the Barcelona half marathon. It will be the 23 edition this time and again we will have some changes. For sure it will be another great race in Barcelona with many happy runners.
First of all, the starting line will be at the same point like before. So for everyone who run this race before, nothing has changed and we will find our box with closed and tired eyes. You will say now "box"? Yes, this is the first change for this year. They announced to have boxes with colours like for the Barcelona Marathon to seperate the people better. I always started from the last line. So hopefully I'm still allowed to start with the "lame ducks" - which I'm and what I by the way prefer to be as a long distance runner. It is much more relaxed than to sprint from the first line. One keyword - injury prevention!
What have they also changed? The route and the finish line. For me the route was never really slow. I agree, no one likes to run the Avinguda del Parallel up"hill" but that they didn't changed. The most obvious change is that the Arc de Triomf is now part of the route and not anymore the finish line. That is in my eyes a little bit sad. Many spectators, friends and families stood there the years before at the finish line along the magnificent sidewalk Boulevard and cheered their beloved over the finish line.
The date for the race is perfect. Especially perfect for all the runners who also take part in the Barcelona Marathon exactly 4 weeks later. So this competition is a great combination for combining a great race with your training. In this case it will be one of your last long runs.
The organisatoin is very similar to the Barcelona Marathon. There will be not so many entertainment for the runners along the road - so we can more focusing on running.
The weather! Be prepared for everything. Cold, sunny, warm, rainy. Nothing is impossible. Many people come to Barcelona, or Spain and they expect sun and warm temperatures. And yes, normally it is much warmer here than in the rest of north-east Europe. When they have still minus degrees, we will have already something about 10-15°C in the sun. So there can be a temperature difference of up tp 15-20°C. But when we have this ugly wind in Barcelona, than you maybe wish that you would have a long tight in your luggage.
So the Barcelona Half Marathon is a great race with normally perfect running conditions. For the old veterans of this race - we will maybe miss the old finish line - for the newbies, have fun and enjoy Barcelona during a perfect organized race.
