Racing Valencia Marathon
The Levelhead rejoiced!
Short recap of my Valencia Marathon. After all, right next to Sierre Zinal, this was one of my two A-races of 2023. Short version: It was a great race and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. If this doesn’t satisfy you, here’s a deeper dive into my Valencia Marathon.
Did I meet my goal for the ‘running fast’ feeling?
Yes. For 42 km straight. It was awesome.
Did I actually run fast?
That’s in the eye of the beholder ;-)
I’ve always been a runner who, more often than not, can’t translate good training results into great race results. For no obvious reasons. But I made peace with this circumstance ages ago, and simply do what everyone does on race day: doing my best and giving all I can give on that particular day.
That’s also what I did in Valencia. On top, I also raced super smart. I started easy and then kept an almost embarrassingly steady pace all throughout the race. That’s extra wild because I turned my running watch to the inside of my wrist and ran the whole race completely by feel. A true levelhead approach to running a marathon, but it made me feel strong and on top of things from start to finish. A great experience.
About the Valencia Marathon
Valencia is a vibrant city, very much like Barcelona (sorry, if this is an offensive thing to say). Marathon vibes hit hard. Especially on Friday and Saturday, it were runners all over the place. Additionally, the city is literally built to run. Right next to a bike track, they have a “runner’s track” carved into the heart of the city. It’s super nice and even includes kilometer markers and beautifully set up lightning.
The race itself ranks among the top-3 of all marathons I’ve seen in my 10 years of running. Absolutely top-notch time schedules and traffic management. The same goes for the aid stations’ setup and their highly motivated, and obviously perfectly trained personnel. This race runs as smooth as a bobsledder. I’ve seen epic fails, even at major marathons, but Valencia did an outstanding job.
What’s up next?
Lisa and I are staying in Valencia for 3 more days, eating all the vegan food and relaxing the hell out of our mini-holiday. I can clearly feel how overdue this was. Not because of the marathon. Rather, due to the past weeks and months of intense work and life-projects. However, I feel zero regret. While my batteries are recharging, I am already getting hungry for more. More of everything. More of life.
Great! Good to read how satisfied you are although 3h still remain a barrier to be broken. Congratulations.
awesome! congrats!