A good while ago I embarked on a nostalgia trip, describing some road running events that used to be very popular among the Maltese running community, but that are now, sadly, only a part of history. I had started off with the summer fun runs, some more fun with the St Patrick's summer league, the Balluta 5 miles race and here, to conclude, some other events that are no longer part of the Maltese running calender. So, here goes...
The Paola Half Marathon
I have fond memories of this short-lived 'sister' of the Malta International Challenge Marathon, for the simple reason that here I obtained my best time ever at a half marathon - exactly 1h30:00 (1h29:59 on my watch).
The Paola half marathon used to be held on a Sunday morning in mid-May. The start was at Paola Square, and the route went through Santa Luċija, Luqa, all the way through Ħal Far to Birżebbuġa, Marsaxlokk and up towards Bir id-Deheb, along the Tal-Barrani Road and back into Paola.
It was just my type of route, but for some reason the event did not gain in popularity. Perhaps the running calendar had already grown saturated, or athletes didn't like the idea of a long distance race in May, when the temperature's already considerably hot in Malta, especially for this type of long distance. Maybe there were complicated traffic considerations, financial viability... whatever. Too bad, because I used to like this race.
The Paola Half Marathon
I have fond memories of this short-lived 'sister' of the Malta International Challenge Marathon, for the simple reason that here I obtained my best time ever at a half marathon - exactly 1h30:00 (1h29:59 on my watch).
The Paola half marathon used to be held on a Sunday morning in mid-May. The start was at Paola Square, and the route went through Santa Luċija, Luqa, all the way through Ħal Far to Birżebbuġa, Marsaxlokk and up towards Bir id-Deheb, along the Tal-Barrani Road and back into Paola.
It was just my type of route, but for some reason the event did not gain in popularity. Perhaps the running calendar had already grown saturated, or athletes didn't like the idea of a long distance race in May, when the temperature's already considerably hot in Malta, especially for this type of long distance. Maybe there were complicated traffic considerations, financial viability... whatever. Too bad, because I used to like this race.
The Zurrieq 10 miles
A well-established fixture of the Maltese road running calendar is the Zurrieq half marathon in November. This is an offshoot of an earlier race that was very popular, and used to be held in October: the Zurrieq 10 miles. I remember gaining a couple of very good times in this event. Of course, in those sub-40-years-old times, most of my times used to be very good compared to what I'm achieving as a get ever closer to 50... (goodness, even writing it feels so odd, I can't bear even to look at the number).
Perhaps, this was a bit too close to the end of summer, so runners were still unprepared for a relatively long distance, following the summer break. October in Malta is for all intents and purposes still part of summer, and therefor hot. In all honesty, I've forgotten the route of this race. I have to look up my old running diaries, a couple of thousand kilometres away, to get a few clues. Dear, oh dear. Time is flying, and memories are fading...
The Thomas Cook Charity 6
The route of this event I remember very well, as it was very straightforward. We used to start at Għar id-Dud in Sliema, go to Qui-si-sana, towards Tigne' (this was before they dug the whole thing out) and along the coast towards the Ferries, along the Strand, towards Ta' Xbiex, always following the coast, up to the then Manhattan, now Mamma Mia, Restaurant, and back. Going up back into Tigne', we entered inside toward the Tigne' tower (I don't know if this exists at all anymore), went round it and kept on towards Qui-si-sana and on to the finish at Għar id-Dud.
Here I used to achieve some incredible timings, including a memorable 38 minutes for six miles on one occasion. I was young, and the course was flat... One image that is still sharp in my memory is my good friend Victor's grimace as he ran out of Tigne', while I was still entering in there, before embarking on the final sprint towards Għar id-Dud. It was my same memorable 38-minute six miler, and Victor beat me on that day by close to one minute!
The Birkirkara 10k
On 24 June, or thereabouts, the St Joseph institute or something like that in Birkirkara used to organise a 10km race, in the evening. These would, of course, be held in hot weather, a fact that has some bearing on what happened to me on one occasion.
It was an interesting route, but also very tough for a good part of the way. It would start from next to the institute, close to the Mitħna ta' Birkirkara. We would go up to the Birkirkara bypass, then along that road and eventually taking the left turn into San Ġwann industrial estate. Up till there the route was mostly uphill, but at the industrial estate the road becomes steeper, always uphill. We would go up to the San Ġwann bypass, and on to the Tal-Balal road (even further up) towards Naxxar.
You can imagine how we would be feeling as we approached Naxxar. But, from then on, it was downhill all the way. It was down from the Naxxar church towards the Mercedes showroom. And further down through the main road to Lija, back towards the start. It was a really fast finish.
In my second participation it was particularly hot. As we puffed our way up Tal-Balal road I saw a small crowd on the side of the road, and with a shock realised there was a lady athlete who had fainted. The tough hills and the heat had gotten the better of her. I couldn't just go on and ignore her, so I stopped to help. Except that there wasn't much I could do. Someone was wetting her face and so on, and eventually she recovered. I resumed my run, but finished very late because of the stoppage.
They used to give a prize to the most improved athlete, comparing times between successive editions. The following year I did the race at my normal pace, without any stoppages (there was no one lying unconscious at the roadside in that edition), and lo and behold... I was the third best improved athlete, and received a trophy for it!
So, did I deserve a medal for an act of kindness in sport when I stopped to help a fellow athlete in distress? Or should I be censored for accepting a prize on not exactly the fairest of premises?
This race was eventually taken over by the Birkirkara local council, changed route, distance and date several times, and I believe has now morphed into a series of 5k races, although I stand to be corrected. Slowly, but surely, I'm losing track of what's happening in the homeland. It's getting on to seven years since I left, there are new events, and so many new runners that nowadays I almost feel like a stranger when I run in an event there...
On 24 June, or thereabouts, the St Joseph institute or something like that in Birkirkara used to organise a 10km race, in the evening. These would, of course, be held in hot weather, a fact that has some bearing on what happened to me on one occasion.
It was an interesting route, but also very tough for a good part of the way. It would start from next to the institute, close to the Mitħna ta' Birkirkara. We would go up to the Birkirkara bypass, then along that road and eventually taking the left turn into San Ġwann industrial estate. Up till there the route was mostly uphill, but at the industrial estate the road becomes steeper, always uphill. We would go up to the San Ġwann bypass, and on to the Tal-Balal road (even further up) towards Naxxar.
You can imagine how we would be feeling as we approached Naxxar. But, from then on, it was downhill all the way. It was down from the Naxxar church towards the Mercedes showroom. And further down through the main road to Lija, back towards the start. It was a really fast finish.
In my second participation it was particularly hot. As we puffed our way up Tal-Balal road I saw a small crowd on the side of the road, and with a shock realised there was a lady athlete who had fainted. The tough hills and the heat had gotten the better of her. I couldn't just go on and ignore her, so I stopped to help. Except that there wasn't much I could do. Someone was wetting her face and so on, and eventually she recovered. I resumed my run, but finished very late because of the stoppage.
They used to give a prize to the most improved athlete, comparing times between successive editions. The following year I did the race at my normal pace, without any stoppages (there was no one lying unconscious at the roadside in that edition), and lo and behold... I was the third best improved athlete, and received a trophy for it!
So, did I deserve a medal for an act of kindness in sport when I stopped to help a fellow athlete in distress? Or should I be censored for accepting a prize on not exactly the fairest of premises?
This race was eventually taken over by the Birkirkara local council, changed route, distance and date several times, and I believe has now morphed into a series of 5k races, although I stand to be corrected. Slowly, but surely, I'm losing track of what's happening in the homeland. It's getting on to seven years since I left, there are new events, and so many new runners that nowadays I almost feel like a stranger when I run in an event there...
