Gran Canaria Marathon 2011

The Gran Canaria 10k, Half and Marathon held every January. Active Canaria's Grodon Sutcliffe, recalls his race and speaks to some of the runners taking part.

Since my first road race ten years ago,running has  fought hard for my affections. I´ve completed one Half Marathon,10 Mile races,10k and shorter distances in England, France and Spain, where I now live most of the year.  But all this time, football has been my first love and as I have got older I´ve found  it harder and harder to combine the two sports and I´ve never really improved as a runner.  My 10k time has always hovered around 45 minutes.  So this January, I made a slighlty unusual resolution  to give up a sport.  I feel like I´ve finally committted to one woman, the more trustworthy one that will be with me for life. From now on I´ll always be looking ahead in my running, even if all I see is the backs of other runners .

So the first race of the of this new faithful era was the Gran Canaria 10km, held in Las Palmas on January 24^th on ths same day as the second Gran Canaria Marathon, Europe's most southern road marathon and the Half Marathon. I´ve competed in this race before, as I live in Las Palmas, but this year the 10km distance had been made official rather than in previous years when it was called 'Carrera Popular', or fun run. Probably as a result of this, the number of entries  was around 450 compared to 180 in 2010.

 My preparation was also slightly different from before as I has spent most of the Christmas  period in the warmth in Gran Canaria rather than the customary two weeks on the sofa at my parents. So I had trained more than usual for this time of year and also managed to do some intervals for the first time since I used too run around Tooting Bec track with Herne Hill Harriers before I moved to Spain.

So I felt in good shape on the day before the race as I went to collect my my number along with the 2,500 other runners of 27 nationalities,across the three races.  It was well-staffed and clearly marked and  there  was also a chance to wander around the stalls of various local sports shops, gyms and other running events.   As I was covering the race for a local paper, I sought out the guest runners, and the eventual winners, of the men´s and women's marathon, Abraha M. Amare and Eleni Gebremedhin Gebrehiwot, both from Ethiopia.

There were already ominous signs for her challengers as Eleni explained “I´ve run in Italy before but this is my first time in Spain.  These conditions are good for me. It's like Ethiopia.”

Her English was slightly better than her compatriot's whose obvious shyness also prevented an interview of any great length. When asked if he could get a personal best, the following day, he replied simply “We will see.”

Glorious sunshine greeted the race starts on race day and the careful planning of the organisers paid off with all three races starting on time,beginning with the Marathon at 8.55 followed by the half five minutes later and the 10k at 9.05.  This is a far cry from from four years ago when we were kept waiting for an hour on the start line. As this event has grown, it is obvious that those in charge have seen the need for attention to detail in an event of this importance for the city and the island.

There was a little confusion early on as I seemed to be moving through the field with ease, only for my friend,Onofre,who I was running with, to point out that  in fact they were in the Half Marathon.  However, supported along the route by enthusiastic support, folk musicians, dancers in full Carnival costume and even gymnasts, I actually began to pass other runners in my race.

The heat began to take it´s toll around the halfway mark  and I was unable to maintain the four minute kilometre pace I was hoping for. In the past I have often felt that I´ve left too late to quicken the pace.   Maybe this time I over did the reverse and went to fast at the start.  I left very little left in the tank by the final kilometre. I eventually finished in 43.53 and although I was a little disappointed with the time I managed to finish 51^st out of 418 finishers. I think races of a shorter distance have appealed to me more over the years, rather then longer mass-participation races,as the finishing positon can be as rewardin g as the time.  Racing against the clock is a challenge it's self but surely trying to win a race or get as close as possible is the most natural instinct. If I was ever spotted by a top-class coach and nutured in a remarkably short space of time, into an international athlete in the style of a I would always save  myself for major championships and reject the big money offers for world record attempts.

Sorry,back to reality,.  By the time I had showered and changed and made the most of post-race refreshments,which had also improved, the Half Marathon finishers were beginning to trickle home.  A flat coures winds it´s way through the historic centre of Las Palmas and then takes runners along the sea front at Las Canteras, the world´s second biggest city beach after Rio.  The Marathon does the circuit twice.

“It was a nice tour of the city,” enthused Carol MacDonald, from Tring Running Club who had come over for the weekend with five club colleagues to compete in either the 21k or 10k. 

“It was a nice flat course and the organisation was very good.”

Her friend Maria Cook has plent of experience of overseas marathon and was able to rate Gran Canaria accordingly.

“I've done the Prague,Rome and Dublin Marathons. Rome was my favourite, Prague was horrible, but this race  was lovely.”

Similarly, Megan from Sydney, Australia,but now living in London, also travelled with Active Canaria  and was using  the race as preparation for London.  She did a P.B of 1 hour 41 minutes.

“It was great.  There was just the right amount of people.”

Liz Stewart, came on a trip organised by Active Canaria a travel agency who specialize in racing and training trips to Gran Canaria. She did brilliantly to finish ninth in the women´s category in 1 hour 39 minutes.   Now living in Germany she is familiar with Spanish culture, having previously lived in Sevilla and  was  impressed with the event.

“It was surprisingly well-organised.  I know sometimes this isn't a Spanish strong-point.  I would definitley come again!”

I asked her how it compared to a race she ran in Majorca in the Autumn.

“This one had a better atmosphere. The city seems to have more of a community feel to it.  The runners seemed to be enjoying it a lot more than they do in Germany or England. I think that´s due to the climate. “

The climate provides an attractive prospect for runners of any standard looking to break-up a long winter.  Club La Santa in neighbouring Lanzarote, with it´s all-inclusive set-up has long been a popular winter training destination, but the number of running events in Gran Canaria is on the increase.   Furthermore,  the rugged landscape has finally been recognised as ideal for mountain races  and orienteering events and these are also starting to become more prevalent.  Allan Bogle who sat on the Marathon Committe and also organises Orienteering competitions explained the sudden boom.

“Peope ahve got a little bored of the traditional destinations and and have discovered what Gran Canaria has to offer”.

I waited for the winners of the men´s and women marathon to come in comfortably . The winning times were 2.21 and 2..44 respectively with Eleni Gebremedhin Gebrehiwot demonstrating her total superiority by actually finishing 3^rd in the overall race.

Terry Wootton came over from Kent  to run the Marathon, having done the half in previous years and finished in 5 hours 14. He was a little miffed to find the finisher´s T-shirts had run out but I´ve been assured that the organisers have since supplied one. This was Terry's 64^th Marathon, run over a preiod of arounf twenty years.  I imagine he´ll be back next year.

I finally headed off to relax on the beach  and contemplate the next race. I´ve decided to step up the to the half marathon and will be aiming for one in May.  I'll need to greatly increase my mileage but I´m ready for the challenge, and that's what commitment is all about.