The Valencia marathon was excellent. The organisation worked perfectly:
Expo:
The expo ran on the Friday and Saturday. I got there on the Friday lunch time and you could breeze through very quickly. I picked up a few extra t-shirts from the brand sponsor Luavi, these were very nice designs but the quality lacking. Although for $10 each, can’t complain!
Race day:
i stayed near the beaches and got the bus to the start, all buses were free for runners until 4pm, which meant the return after the race was free too! Baggage drop was a breeze, as were signs to the start corals and general organisation.
Race:
The route was well sign posted, the course was busy but not too bad you couldn’t get your pace fine in the first mile.
i enjoyed the route, from 25km you hit the city centre and from there it is a big wall of support from locals.
I don’t like the heat, so from 30km as the temp hit 18c, I started to struggle (was 12c at the start) - but that’s a personal thing.
The finish was excellent and although the heat hit me hard I finished in 3:21:29.
Post-race:
You get water, poweraide, oranges, beer, foil blanket and the medal very easily as you leave the finish. Lots of room too! I paid €5 (at the expo) to have my medal engraved - which is well worth it. You get a wrist band and head to somewhere near the baggage pickup to do it. All security could point me in the right direction. A 15min wait to get it done but I’d recommend!
Overall:
Great city and great race - if you like it a little bit warm then youll like this even more!!