Lisbon was my third rock n roll event this year (doing it for the bling) so I was really excited after my experiences in Madrid and Liverpool earlier in the year.  I will break this review into a bit of a comparison as it sums up my experience of the race. 

Pre race comms and build up

I had to drop down from the full to the half, I did this online but got no response back as to if the change had been successful. It was only via facebook messages that any decent communications were made.  Pre race information was on one email with my race number.  Apparently some people received multiple numbers and others didn’t get emails or they went into spam folders. 

The build-up didn’t feel the same as other races, there was a bit of social media presence but there wasn’t the hype that was given to Madrid and Liverpool.  Even after the race RnR only seemed to talk about the US events that day and not Lisbon.  It sort of feels that the Lisbon RnR is only that by name and not by spirit.

Expo:

The best expo of the year by far was in Madrid, Lisbon really seemed to make a hash of things.  I appreciate I got there around lunchtime on the Saturday but the queue to get into the place was over an hour.  They said the delay was “unprecedented volume of runners this year”.  I am sure they knew how many people would be turning up.  The problem was the way they were giving out race numbers.  The queue was limiting how many people could get into this small room to pick up their packets.  Liverpool and Madrid had a huge space for this but Lisbon didn’t seem to provide a big enough space.  This could have been easily rectified by setting up in the covered outdoor area which was huge and would have easily allowed people to pick up packets and t-shirts.

The vendors were ok, I was disappointed that there was no rock n roll merchandise stall, again this made it feel like this event was RnR by name only.

Race day organisation

Getting to the start lines sounded like it was going to be difficult but actually worked quite well.  For the marathon people had to get a train out to Cascais whilst for the half you had to get out to parc de naceos (free metro with your bib) and then there were shuttles put on to get you to the start line.  As it starts on the vasco de gama bridge the only way to get there was on these shuttles.  Considering the volume of people going there this all seemed to flow quickly.

My main issue with the start of the half marathon was the start time.  The marathon started at 8 whereas the half starts at 10.30.  On a normal day at this time of year I wouldn’t have minded so much.  As it was the weather forecast was showing it getting up to 30 degrees by 12:00 and early to mid 20s by the start time. 

We got to the bridge for around 9.15 and then had to spend an hour sitting in the road waiting for the start.  Every few minutes it was getting hotter and hotter!  By the time we started it was at least 23 degrees.  I think the organisers could have foreseen this and changed the start time, if they had done this pre-expo then everyone would have known about the change

Pacers/starting process

The start of the race was a bit odd, once bussed to the start people just moved their way into any position they wanted to, it felt like a big park run! There were no starting pens, pacers or anything to indicate timings.

Course

The course was a mix of stunning and dull.  As mentioned it was 23 degrees when we set off and we had a beautiful 3 mile run over the vasco de gama bridge.  The views were amazing and it felt awesome running into Lisbon.  After getting off the bridge the heat began to rise, I think I clocked it around 26, the heat was one thing the fact there was no shade for a few miles really took it out of me.  These miles were round an industrial area which was pretty dull but water stations were well supported by local scouts/guides.

As the temperature continued to rise there was some shade as we went through the parc de naceos area.  This part was fairly well supported as the mini fun run also finished there.  After this was a stretch down the river heading into the centre.  There were some shaded areas but again a mainly exposed part of the run and the temperature hit 30 degrees.  I managed to get some water around the 8 mile point but my wife who was around 15 minutes behind me said they had run out of water by the time she got there.  This really is not acceptable in this heat.

Racing into the main square of Lisbon we turned back into the city and were faced with the final challenge of the day, cobbles followed by a one mile climb up to the marques de Pombal roundabout.  Thankfully there was a water station at the bottom as at this point we were up to 32 degrees!  Most people at the point I got there (including me) were walking up it.

I was happy to get to the top which meant one thing, downhill to the end!  Running through the cramps I headed back through the lovely city centre and had one final temperature check (yes it peaked at 33 degrees!) before running under the Rua Augusta Arch onto a red carpet and over the finish line.

A well deserved iced lolly, goody bag and of course a lovely bit of bling awaited me at the end.  As with my other thoughts around other RnR, Lisbon didn’t really live up to the others medal wise and felt out of character but I still love my medal and I am very proud of what I have achieved to get it!

This was probably the hardest half I have run and certainly the slowest, would I run it again…. Maybe.  I think I would do the marathon if I was to do it again.  My tip for the organisers would be to go to another rock and roll event in Europe and see how they do it! Either that or don’t sell yourself as an RnR, it is meant to be a gold standard race but it didn’t feel it.

My other suggest would be start a mile further back on the bridge, head into the centre towards the end but please cut out the hill at the end.  There is no need for it at the end of a race like that.  Loved Lisbon though, and what a place to relax after running a half marathon.