Chile Marathon

I can’t believe it. Having just finished a marathon on the sixth continent - South America - I’ve actually complete what I set out to this year – 6 marathons on 6 continents. It’s an amazing feeling, although having upped the anti and secured a place to run 26.2 miles in Antarctica I can’t afford to wallow in the glory for too long as I’m going to need to start some specialized training… but I’m getting ahead of myself – Chile – the sixth continent. ..

What an amazing country. Despite my complete lack of Spanish the people here are very accommodating and helpful and the marathon itself did not disappoint. Vina del Mar, a beach town about an hour outside of Santiago is lovely. Paced completely differently to the capital, with much cleaner air and spectacular views.

The expo was tiny and it became obvious why when I registered and found that despite being an ‘international’ run there were only 260 runners taking part in the full marathon! There was also a half and a 10k race which in total took the number of runners up to less than 1,000. So a much smaller event than the last few I’ve competed in but none-the-less a great experience.

Having picked up my treasured t-shirt to add to my now impressive collection, I was pleased to find the goody bag also contained an excellent pair of running socks – which, in my opinion, makes it a better goodie bag than many larger (more expensive) events.

I met with the race organiser, who I’d emailed a couple of times before entering the race. He invited me to an impressive pasta party, which I attended a little nervously at first, as one of only a handful of runners competing from outside of Chile and with no Spanish. I needn’t have worried though, as in the queue I struck up a conversation with a guy from Santiago, Marcello, who spoke terrific English. I sat on his table, where he was joined by his running partners, who spoke less English but he tirelessly interpreted the conversation from Spanish to English and visa versa so we could all join in.

I had a great time. It was certainly the best pasta party of any event I’ve ever attended and, as some of you may know, I am a bit partial to food! The location was also very grand, set in an old style hotel with plenty of space and a great atmosphere when the 250-seater room was full and the pasta just kept flowing.

The day of the race meant another early start. I set off at 05:00 to walk to the nearby hotel, where runners were being collected by coaches to take them to the start area. It’s a strange thing, when you travel so far for an event, you really don’t want to miss it. The night before an international race I usually sleep really badly – concerned that I might miss the start. The night before this race I slept worse than usual because I knew if I’d missed the coach to the start line, basically I’d miss the race. With this in mind I set off very early, arriving at the hotel even before the organisers!

The meeting point for pick up was outside the grand hotel, O’Higgins, where the exbo had been the day before. Surrounded by a park, which was completely empty, it was lit with thousands of ‘dancing’ lights - it was amazing.

By the time the coaches had taken us to the start point it was full day light and I was delighted with the conditions - very hazy and overcast with a light misty drizzle. As a point to point race (where the start and finish are in different places), the start lines for the marathon runners, half marathon runners and 10k runners were all in different places, so we’d all be crossing over the same finish line. As I set off from the marathon start line at 07:30, I was surrounded by just a few hundred others – certainly one of the smallest start to race I’ve encountered this year.

On the coach I met an American lady, Cynthi, who had recently moved to the local area and was completing her fourth marathon. We struck up a good conversation and so decided to run together. Being on the coast, I’d expected the course to be flat but the first 10k greeted us with some rather demanding hills. Still the rewards were high, with superb views from the hills and forests inland to the final 10 miles along the coastal roads. At one point the course itself reminded me of Cape Town, which is high honour indeed.

With the exception of the finish, the roads are not closed off for the event so you do have to negotiate with traffic. Fortunately, for the most part, there wasn’t that much traffic and I found the drivers friendly and happy to give us plenty of room. Busier sections of the route where manned by the police, who managed the traffic well, making it easy for runners. Along the route race volunteers were truly happy to be helping and very enthusiastic with plenty of energy drinks. The only downside to the drinks stations was that it was all energy drinks and no water. Fortunately, I’d brought a bottle of water myself, which I managed to eek out until 400 metres before the end. The finish line was great. With so few runners there weren’t that many spectators (especially by the time I finished) but the organisers arranged for canned cheering and clapping to be played out as you approached the finish line. It was an excellent way to finish this friendly well organised race.

Completing this event puts me over the 800 mile marker and I’ve now completed six full marathons on six continents. I’m celebrating with a few days relaxing in the sun here. I’m back in the UK shortly and on Sunday (16th) I’m planning on getting back into the Christmas spirit by participating in The Pudding Catcher – a 12k event, which I’m hoping to attend with my nephews, Aiden and Morgan, in Curdridge, Southampton.

Until then, have a great week,

Bryce