My running journey over the past few years has had an overarching focus to it – to run the world Major Marathons. This has been a wonderful experience that has taken me across the world, but I seem to have reached as far as I am able to go with this particular challenge (obtaining a Boston Marathon ticket remains out of reach for now). My thoughts turned towards what might be next, and I found myself drawn towards a new goal – the SuperHalfs!
The SuperHalfs are a set of six European half marathons – complete them all and you can earn yourself a lovely supermedal! What’s more, you will get to visit some amazing cities along the way: Cardiff, Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen and Valencia. This sounded like the perfect opportunity to enjoy some weekend sightseeing breaks with a bit of running added in for good measure! I love the whole concept of the SuperHalfs, getting these six iconic races to join together with some slick merchandising (you get a super passport to complete) makes for a fun concept, that is achievable with a little effort and planning. Ticket sales for all six of these races have gone through the roof since they rebranded as SuperHalfs, showing the huge demand for destination races is still going strong. Keep an eye out for the dates all of these races go on sale as you will need to get in there fast!
Having already ticked off Cardiff Half last year, my sights turned towards Europe. I am aiming to complete two SuperHalfs per year, and 2025 sees me heading towards Lisbon in March followed by Valencia in October. I have never visited Lisbon before so it was the perfect excuse to make a family long weekend of it, and we spent a glorious couple of days before the race exploring the hilly cobbled streets and sampling all the delightful pastries of the city. On the Saturday morning we took a tuk-tuk guided tour of the city, which was the perfect way of seeing the sights without expending too much energy – it’s always hard not to overdo things before race day!
Sunday morning rolled around and I left the apartment early, wrapped up in a few layers plus a disposable rain poncho to protect me from the many heavy rain showers. The race starts a little outside of central Lisbon, on the far side of the Abril 25 bridge, meaning there is only one way to get to the start line via overground train. This had me slightly worried as I knew the train would be incredibly busy with the many thousands of runners all needing to travel at the same time. If I could give some advice it would be to travel via metro to one of the earlier overground stations on the route, as by the time we passed the final couple of pick-up stops, people were struggling to get on board.
The slight inconvenience of the starting location was totally made up for by the fact that the first couple of miles were running across the spectacular vibrant red Abril 25 bridge across to the city. Anyone who has run NYC will be familiar with this kind of bridge crossing start, and Lisbon was equally magnificent, affording us beautiful views of the city laid out before us. After landing on the other side however, the route became a little less scenic. We stuck mainly to long out-and-back roads along the waterfront, probably a deliberate ploy to keep us away from the steep hills of the city itself. The race had some nice touches of cooling showers, and a fruit aid station which felt lovely and refreshing.
I finished the race in 2:27, not a bad time for me at the moment, and was rewarded with a very welcome finish-line ice cream , and another stamp in my super passport! Next up on my SuperHalf journey will be Valencia later on this year. Please do check out the SuperHalfs website for info on all the races, and let me know if I might see you at an upcoming race!
Monday Running 
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