I floated the idea of a club trip abroad to the committee about a year ago. We all love Brampton to Carlisle but it was about time we ventured a little further. Thanks to Nicola (your then ladies captain) who did plenty of research, before landing on the Fuengirola Half Marathon (beating the likes of Benidorm and Tarragona amongst a few other possibilities).
Once it was announced that was the race and destination a few of us booked our own flights. A group chat was formed and Fuengirola regular Julie, recommended the Occidental (great choice). There was plenty of pre holiday chat including a dubious suggestion of all wearing Saltwell hoodies and matching visors for the airport (you’ll see them later). Thankfully only Simon turned up in his. Also Julie, back to her social secretary days, had nearly a full itinerary already set for us including activities and where best to eat.
Day 1 (Thursday)
An early 6am flight meant we were all on a minibus at 3.30am! We touched down to a very windy Malaga airport and eventually made it to the hotel after a long delay at passport control. The taxi driver then needed a 20-point turn and a bump to the car behind to get out of his space.
Bags were quickly dumped in rooms and were we out in the wonderful bars and restaurants of Fuengirola for tapas and plenty of drinks. Professional runners we are not, there was plenty of alcohol drank (you always go too hard on the first day don’t you?). Three of us remained out until 3am under the stewardship of our captain which ended in with a pizza and kebab to share on a park bench. Great preparation for our race!
Day 2 (Friday)
A few were a little worse for wear but most of us made it to breakfast. After a dip in the sea however everyone seemed fully recovered. Three of us decided to go for a little leg loosener. A few easy flat miles were what I had in mind, not Jonathan. After a couple of miles we were on the trails up and down on a route Trail Outlaws would have been proud of. Eight miles later we made it back to our hotel via the beach. It wasn’t long before we were back on the alcohol again after picking our race numbers up. Taking it a little easier with the race in mind — 1am back to the hotel was a bit more suitable.
Day 3 – Pre race day (Saturday)
Most of us eventually thought it was time now to have a rest from the alcohol. But what was going to occupy us? Running, of course! Well only three of us — the three J’s made it out for a sunrise shake out.
Also part of Julie’s itinerary included mini golf, where we got to wear our very fashionable visors. Simon’s previous course knowledge led him to an overall one-shot victory.
Then on to the evening and where better to carb load than at a restaurant called Pasta Factory? We arrived at 7pm all quite hungry. We weren’t quite sure what was going on in the kitchen. A few of us ran our race faster than it did to make some bruschetta and everyone would had completed their half marathon by the time our mains came! We eventually left not long after 10pm and made the sensible decision to go straight back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
Day 4 – Race Day (Sunday)
We all met for a very easy jog over to the race start. We arrived in plenty of time and headed straight to the toilets. Organisers were proudly announcing they’d reached 2,500 entries, so of course they had plenty of toilets… two for men (there were no urinals) and two for women. The queues were long and very slow. Getting closer and closer to the race start the men had heard whispers that people were just having a pee in the showers… sorry everyone but we just couldn’t wait! Later we asked why the women didn’t do the same. Turns out the men had a shower curtain and the women didn’t — what a luxury!
Our warm up was a quick dash to the start to try and push our way to the front (there were no estimated times) and for some reason the pacers from 1hr30 to 2hrs were all stood within a couple of yards of each other. Soon the countdown was on and we were off. Unfortunately for a couple caught in the queues they were virtually last to make it over the start line.
Apart from those couple of gripes the event was really well organised. The roads and streets we were running on were only closed about 30 mins before the start. We did a bit of an out and back before heading towards the Armada Bridge and Sohail Castle. Once we go there about 5.5 miles in we then made a turn and were running along the beach front.
This is where it got tough. In direct sunlight and in to a fairly strong headwind the stretch appeared to go on forever, probably just over 4 miles in total. A few predicted times (which Julie had kindly posted) were now out of grasp. We eventually turned back towards the centre of Fuengirola for the usual last 3-mile slog. One by one we all made it in and then went back to the last 200m turn to cheer on others to finish their race. The local support (and Lynseys husband – Saltwell’s official photographer and cheerleader for the day) were great along the route. This included a few bands playing but our support there at the finish was possibly the loudest, which was appreciated by all the runners (apart from Rav!).
Some great times posted, including a huge PB for Lynsey, smashing her sub 2hr target! Although not the time I had in mind I still managed a PB but what I was more chuffed with I managed to hold off the first female — I found something from somewhere as she appeared on my right shoulder with 200m to go. Also the other unofficial Saltwell member of the trip (a not so serious runner who was debating whether to wear his usual football socks or his brand new running ones purposely bought for the trip), managed a 1hr38 time expertly paced by JC!
We all ambled back to the hotel and got ready for the refuelling. Some of us decided to sit back and relax and watch the football whereas Jon, Jess and Simon decided they wanted another challenge for the day and booked an escape room! Of course they weren’t defeated and made it out in time!
Talk of taking it easy for the next morning’s flight were soon forgotten and were we back hunting for the best bars in Fuengirola. According to Simon and Julie one of them was a bar called Moochers which apparently had the very best local talent playing live music. We all walked in. Eight of us walked straight back out! Simon and Julie (who is on first name terms with one of the workers there from several previous visits) endured one drink and a dance to a few covers of the Carpenters and The Nolans. Even though some of us were quite merry, we all sensibly made it back to the hotel around midnight.
Day 5 (Monday)
Not a lot to write about here — just the journey home. We all made it back safely reminiscing about what a great few days we all had and then thinking where we could go next year.
What made it great was the variety of members who attended, some of us knew each other more than others but it’s fascinating what you learn about each other on a running trip fuelled by alcohol. Here’s a bit of a quiz / guess who — have a think which members they might be. I’m not going to give you the names. You’ll have to have a chat with one of us who attended to find out!
- Someone wears 3 pairs of pants / shorts to run in for some reason 🥵
- I thought nobody would be able to eat 🐷 more than I did on the trip, I was wrong! (two answers here)
- How do you judge your pace? It’s usually minutes per mile or km isn’t it? No, the best way is by mph (I’ll give you a clue, it clearly works for them)⏱️
- I know it was the night before the race but someone, on behalf of the table turned down free alcohol 🤯
- Two members thought they were on a chess trip rather a running trip, heads glued to their phones in battle♟️
- Julie is kindly pulling a Tinder profile together for one member, if you do see him please swipe right ❤️
P.S. Paddy would die if he was going in a Kennel.
Thanks for reading!
Aaron Fletcher
