It is a long way to Almansa but it is worth doing it. Last Saturday on 2oth May I drove to that town in the province of Albacete near the provinces of Valencia, Alicante and Murcia. I drove with Juan Pedro, who also took part at Cartagena half. We left at 11:15 am from Almería and after a few stops in Vera and Puerto Lumbreras where we had lunch at a restaurant. We only had a big ham bocadillo ( sandwich ) and a beer for him and a coke for myself. It was a hot sunny day and when we arrived at Almansa, it was quite hot, around 30º Celsius. We had to ask for the sports pavilion where the start was since there were no signs. There was a big free car park near the start. As Juan Pedro had not managed to get a race number since the 2500 limit had been reached ten days before, we asked the girls who gave me my race number if he could use one ot a runner who did not turn up. They told us that he would have to wait until five minutes before the start and he would be able to run with a race number but without a chip.
This race has grown a lot in the last years and has become one of the best half marathons in Spain. The reasons can be several: the entry fee, three euros, goes to a charity for parents of mentally disabled children, the bag of goodies is really generous since you get when you finish a rucksack with a pair of beach sandals, a pair of socks, a technical long sleeve T-shirt, a pack of chocolates, a bottle of water and something else that I cannot remember. Besides, the people in the town are encouraging all the time with even a band of drummers playing and with fireworks and firemen and people in some streets with hoses throwing water up to get a quick shower if you like. There are also a lot of drinking and sponge stands. The course has two laps around the town and in the city centre as well. There is a long steep hill in kilometre seven and seventeen but there are also downhills.
There I met some friends I had met in other races through the virtual club Carreraspopulares.com such as Josep1, Sergio, Pecigo, Orwell or Angelín and others I met that day like Elmurciano. Cepa, Marce, etc. The atmosphere was very nice.
The race started at 6:30 pm. I went with Juan Pedro and other Carreraspopulares runners. We were intending to do it in two hours. Angelín was disguised as a clown giving sweets to the children. He had done the previous Saturday Ronda 101 kms in 22 hours.
The first part was very hot and I got thirsty soon after drinking my bottle of water. I went with them the first three kilometres at a 6´ pace the kilometre but I could not follow that pace after kilometre 10, so I had to slow down and I met José, who works at a nuclear plant at Cofrentes in Valencia but he lives in Almansa and comes from Cartagena where I worked at a secondary school several years ago. We went together a few kilometres where we saw the beautiful landscape which surrounds this town with the castle in the background and the ranges of mountains further on. However, I could not follow his pace either and in the last four kilometres he went on. I walked for one minute in several drinking stations so that I could feel better and avoid stiffness. I had a piece of orange at a stand and a woman in the last hill before the finish offered us a bottle of water that I accepted. People said Ánimo, que ya queda poco. Come on, ( Courage ), it is nearly over. I remember a boy sitting on a wheelchair, who seemed to have a brain paralysis, saying Ánimo. It was really moving. Finally I arrived at the finish, seeing how the people were clapping.
My watched showed 2 hours 15 minutes 5 seconds. A bit disappointing since I had hoped to lower the two hour barrier but it was not bad since I had finished without getting injured, which I had feared since in Cartagena I had to run 14 kms with some discomfort in my right calf. I got my rucksack with a lot of goodies. There were some stands where I had a coke and a lot of pieces of oranges because I was very thirsty. There was another runner who told me that he preferred having oranges to coke or beer which was in another stand. I agreed with him. That was the best after the race as well as just some water. There was a stand with a typical dish from La Mancha, gazpacho manchego but there were too many people waiting to get a plate. Apart from the bag of goodies, they had done a draw before the race to give some more presents depending on your finishing position but I hadn´t been lucky. However, as I arrived among the last one hundred runners, I was given a bottle of wine from Almansa.
I looked for Juan Pedro in the finishing area but I could not find him so I went to the car park but I did not see him. I saw some friends from Carreraspopulares.com who had done the half in around two hours such as Marce, Pascual, Angelín who had taken off his clown fancy dress. After getting changed, I got back to the start to look for him but he was not there. So, I went back to the car where he was waiting for me. He had finished in one hour 57 minutes, which is quite good but he did not feel completely satisfied. Then, we drove back to Almería where we arrived at 2 am. It had been a tiring day but the experience had been great.
VII Medio maratón de Almansa. 20th May 2006
