After running a bit faster than anticipated in Split, Croatia, for the marathon a week prior, walking 7-12 miles each day in London between marathons, and the cold I picked up along the way, I wasn’t sure what to expect from my Malta Marathon experience.
It was during my in-between week that I connected with my friend Beth on WhatsApp for a reason I don’t remember, only to find out she was in Europe for work – and didn’t have plans for the weekend! As an amazing friend, she booked a flight and dubbed herself my official cheerleader, taking her duties very seriously (I later found out she made signs and everything!) So amazing! My weekend plans now had a friend with whom I would share a new adventure!
I arrived to Malta on the Friday, 21 February, to find a beautiful, sunny island (temps were a bit crisp) as my taxi drove me to my hotel in I stayed at the Barcelo Fortina on the waterfront in Sliema, just a short distance from the finish line of the race. Being alone in a place with which I am unfamiliar, I prefer to play it a little safer and less adventurous – especially since I ran a race a few days earlier. This was beautiful, comfortable, not terribly expensive, and in a great location for restaurants, the race (packet pick up was at the hotel), and a great view of Valletta across the water.
After picking up my bib and shirt (ugh! the shirt was so disappointing), I decided to go out and explore to get my bearings and stretch my legs after the flight. It was around this time that I started feeling stuffed up and the starting of a sore throat, which would only get worse in the next day. I won’t bore you with details, but I had a cold, I got good cold meds from a local pharmacy, and I somehow managed to stay on my feet for the run, even enjoying it in spite of being a bit under the weather. It was also this evening when I checked my emails, along in my hotel room, to discover that my Right to Be Caymanian had been granted after 15+ years of living on my island home. I thought I would be celebrating with Beth, however…
Beth’s flight, which was supposed to arrive that evening was oversold and she ended up getting bumped. Then in a series of unfortunate travel drama, her arrival on Saturday was further delayed until the afternoon. She joked at one point that she was just going to be happy if she made it in time to see me finish.
So with the day to myself, I headed to Valletta on the ferry to explore. It is a hilly city, and with me trying to ‘rest’ my legs a bit before running, I wasn’t trying to go everywhere. I did hit the main sights, snapped some pictures, and when my energy flagged due to the cold, I headed back to my hotel for a much needed nap. If I wasn’t getting sick, I would have found the history and culture there so interesting, but I was just exhausted from the cold and wasn’t able to really get into much. NOTE TO SELF: I should go back and bring my husabnd.
Beth later arrived, and we spent hours catching up with news and updates (we hadn’t seen each other in about a year and a half!), grabbed some dinner, and I went to bed. Beth went out for a bit longer as she didn’t have to get up at 4 am for the race, and while wandering, she found a Ladurée cafe where she had what looked like the yummiest Ispahan (rose macaroon topped with rose-scented cream, garnished with fresh raspberries and lychees).
The Malta Marathon is a point to point, meaning you are transported to the start and you run back to the finish at another point (you could purchase a bus ticket to the start for €5 when registering for the race). We were taken at a very early hour to the start town of Mdina, known as the ‘silent city’ (This name was originally coined when the capital city was moved out of Mdina and into what is modern day Vittoriosa. This movement left Mdina so uninhabited that people started to consider it to be like a ghost town, and the silent city nickname was born.)
It was quite chilly in the time before the sun came up and we were there rather early, trying to stay warm. The atmoshere was festive and it was a comfortable temperature to run in, so I was eager to get started. I did pass some time speaking to the man next to me who runs a European travel agenecy that specialises in running events. His wife was running the half; he was running something like his 200th marathon. And it turns out he was in Split the previous weekend, too.
Marathon runners took off at the gun with a small crowd of spectators cheering us as we left Mdina and headed to nearby Rabat, beginning with an uphill section then quickly going to a nice long downhill with beautiful views of Mdina. What I kind of knew but didn’t really KNOW was that we would be running around/back and forth in this general area wtih these same views for about half of the distance. By the end of that section, I was ready to head east toward Sliema and the finish line.
Over all there was a lot of downhill running on the Malta Marathon course; however, this doesn’t mean it was all downhill. In fact, some of the worst parts were in the last 10 km where you had to run on highways – those overpasses are a lot steeper when you need to run up them! Maybe it was just because it was toward the end it felt so much harder; maybe it was because it’s not very interesting to run on a highway. Either way, I was ready for it to end at that point.
I was ahead of the 4:15 pace group at that time, so I kept plugging along, walking up any significant uphills. And that is when it happened – the 4:15 pacers went by me. So I picked up my pace and in a few minutes, I caught up with them, passed them on a big downhill and refused to let them pass me again. I was in pain and the meds were starting to wear off, and it was getting warmer out so I was starting to sweat more (and I didn’t have much to help with replenishing my salts at that point).
As I got closer to the waterfront and the finish line, it felt like the course would never end. I swear, that last mile stretched at least three miles, and when I thought I was in the home stretch, I realised I was not quite there. Finally I saw the restaurant we had dinner at the previous night and I knew that was it. I put my head down, gritted my teeth, and did my best sprint impression that last half mile, looking up only to see Beth with her signs and then find the camera for the finish line photo I was ready to have.
I didn’t feel great at the finish – between my cold and the dehydration (mostly losing salts), I was feeling very lightheaded and out of it. Beth found me and dragged me to a pub for a revitalising beer, which was magic! Beth is the best, have I told you? She then forced me to do a bunch of photos, which are among my favourite post-race pictures as she made me post and hold signs and she knows how to get a good photo!
After beer, a shower, and some french fries (and more beer) at the Laduree cafe, we walked around Sliema to enjoy the beauty of the island, the warmth of the sun, and the sound of the waves on the rocks.
Our Monday was then spent in Mdina to explore the old city, have cake at the Fontanella Tea Garden (a must-do!), and go to the catacombs before gathering our things and heading to the airport for our flights back to our respective destinations. I’d elaborate, but this is already on the lengthy side. Which is great because it means even if I wasn’t feeling well and I was only there for a few days, I had a great time and did my best to get a feel for the destination where I was also fortunate to run.
A few notes about the course:
It was a mostly very lovely course, with beautiful scenery and a run through a national park that was nice surprise. The end along the waterfront was a great way to finish. The highways to get you there, however, were not so fun. It definitely was not one of my favourite courses to travel.
In terms of hydration, they only had three stations for marathoners for electrolytes – and I missed the first one because it wasn’t marked and I thought they were handing out water (the electrolyte was clear like water). On top of it, there wasn’t any food/gel along the way with the exception of an orange stop (I don’t remember seeing it though) around mile 22. I was unsure how I would do with limited ability to carry my Percy Pigs around in my butt bag, but I realised while that wasn’t ideal, I was still able to make it around the 26.2 mi with minimal issue.
Robyn Runs the World 