Three friends from Grantham Running Club made the journey to the sunny Island of Ibiza to race in the Santa Eulària Ibiza Marathon 22K.
The race starts in the scenic town of Santa Gertrudis, at the highest point of the race and descends on an undulating route to sea level. With its white houses and pedestrian streets, bars and restaurants, it is considered as one of the most beautiful areas of the Magic Island.
The first section of the route runs through breathtaking scenery, surrounded by the pine trees along the way. It hen passes through Puig d’en Missa, one of the iconic elements of the island. From then it’s on to Santa Eulària des Riu to race through its main streets as the locals cheered the runners on and gave them support. Punta Arabí was next as runners got the first sight of the sea.
As the final kilometres approached and the finish line located on the Santa Eulària seafront promenade, the Port and the beach of Santa Eulària des Riu gave a last dose of encouragement as crowds lined the route along the beach front with the many bars and shops.
The atmosphere was really alive with the idyllic landscape making this a finish line that stands out.
All three runners were pleased to have completed the race having been struck down with illness in the days before the race. Whilst this made the race a challenge in itself, the warm weather and full sun also made for a hot race on the day, with very little shelter from the late afternoon sun.
Robin Atter was first back for the club in 02:02:43, followed by Belinda Baker in 02:34:02 who also finished 13th in her age category. Vicky Willan came in next at 03:06:32.
1,650 runners took part with 20% being from the UK. All finishers received a medal, t-shirt and goodie bag.
