First half marathon after 6 months injury. My plan for 2017 was to run 3 rock n roll races and this was the first of the 3. Building up the bling by running in different countries as well.
The atmosphere in Madrid was excellent, well run expo will plenty of stalls and merchandise (probably the best expo of the year for me) and the pasta party was well received.
Race day was an early start, the finish line/bag drop location is quite a walk from the start line, I think I had walked 3-4 miles before even starting the race.
The start of the race was immense, half and full starting at the same time and the roads were packed with runners as far as the eye could see. It really lived up to its rock n roll name with speakers blasting out rock anthems and a DJ building up the crowd. The race started with a parachutist landing somewhere near the start line!
Even though the race was early in the year temperatures got up to around 20 degrees. This was still comfortable to run in. The half course didn’t take in lots of sights but was still enjoyable to see a new city, loved running past the bernabau.
What I didn’t expect was just how hilly it was, to date it is my highest elevation for a race. There is a lovely hill towards the end to make things a bit tricky!
Running into the park down the long stretch to the finish line was fun and made it feel like a special end to a race. I would love to go back and run the marathon there.