The forty eighth Teamsport Gozo running day half marathon, 10k,5k, Family runs and Walkathons held Sunday 30th April attracted 1100 entries from 40 different countries.
Weighing up the choices of either a half marathon or 10k GRC member Stephen Fay decided to enter the half. He felt quite pleased with himself until he read the description: ‘This one is for utterly determined and the physically and mentally prepared’ and ‘Conquer your Fears’.
The half marathon route was designed to cover a long ecological green and costal path, as well as covering large parts of northern and central Gozo. It was also a primary goal of the organisers to allow the event to be sustainable and without damage to the rich environment of notable flora and fauna Gozo is well known for.
A Gozo reenactor in period costume complete with an original musket fired into the air signalling the start. And the runners went off through the square past the impressive Xaghra Church, the cheering crowd and almost immediately downhill into the countryside which presented some really striking views of the island.
The weather conditions were near perfect with a temperature of 22 degrees, with a light wind and the sun playing hide and seek through the clouds throughout the run.
The route was marked out in kilometres and Stephen was pleased to see the eleventh signpost signalling the halfway stage had been reached and he latched onto some runners who had done the half before.
The main spectators along the route were donkeys and goats looking at the runners with amusement.
And then came into sight the 19 km marker which meant a steep incline up to the finish. Fortunately Stephen had a few runners along with him as they helped each other up Mount Gozo. At the 20km marker he could hear the music being played above and knew the end was near. Up and around the bend the finish line was visible in the distance, with the music thumping. Thoughts came into his head that he knew that the event was being live streamed via the Xaghra Parish and that the potential millions watching prompted him to sprint the final 400m, cheered on by the crowd to the finish under 2.5 hours.
His chip time was 2:28:31 which he was pleased with considering it was 319 metres of ascent. The winners of the half Female (Ladies first) 1:19:49 and the Mens 1:16:06 which was a new course record. There were 332 finishers, with thirty or so from the UK and the furthest away from Brazil.
It really is a run that he’ll always remember with affection, although his legs wouldn’t have agreed for a few days afterwards.
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