Barcelona Marathon 2013

Jim ,that sounds like a good run. I am a member of a gym too as I like to swim a couple of times a week and only use the treadmill  once a week for speed. Although it is foul out , I still prefer to be outdoors. I will be glad of it  if it gets icy.

Need to load the ipod tho,the gym plays local radio with news/travel and adverts. annoying.

Scooby Dudek , thanks for that. i am sure there will be questions as we get nearer to the day. Glad you had a good experience. Really looking forward to it.

I'm considering this race as my first marathon abroad but was surprised to read somewhere it only had just over 10,000 runners last year!  Scooby - because of this is it not as busy and as manic as some of the other main city marathons?

It is growing year on year -  if the image does not paste you can see the entrant figures at http://www.zurichmaratobarcelona.com/ (statistics)

I did it in 2011 and you do not get lonely over the duration of the race

Sonic  In 2011 I  was in the 3:00-3:30 pen, aiming for 3:10. I was near the back of the pen. As you start, approx 300m in there is a left turn into a narrower street. I spent the first couple of miles running on pavemet (as opposed to road), I believe if I was nearer the front of the pen and/or had remembered the turn into the narrow road I would have been fine.

I was aiming for 7:15mm pace, first mile was 7:29, second mile was 6:57, so I was able to run too quickly over the second mile.

Muzza wrote (see)

Thing is if you loose a min or 2 over the 1st 2-3 miles don't panic, you got another 23-24m to make it up, better to catch up 5-10 secs a mile over the distance than gain 15-30 secs or more over 2-4m coz you will pay for it big time in the later stages. Be patient!!

You are 100% correct. I ran much too quickly over the second mile. The point I was trying to make is the congestion can not have been bad if I could run that quickly over the second mile.

Thanks Jim and Scooby.  This is looking like a great choice for my race abroad and by the looks of it flights and accomodation aren't too excessive either.  Will def. have to look into it a bit more...

I'm planning on running Barcelona too.  My wife's from just outside the city, and her family still live there, so it's a perfect option for me. Other than getting up at 5am to get to the start line in time that is...

Flights are booked, but haven't entered yet because the price hikes for later entry aren't as high as the chances of me injuring myself between now and then... Will enter in late Jan unless something goes horribly wrong.  Otherwise it's just a relaxing family holiday.

Aiming for 3h10 (no prizes for guessing why that's my target), which seems achievable after a sub 90 half in St Albans in June.  Everything went perfectly that day though...

Definitely looking forward to this one! Going to be my 2nd marathon did the Paris one in April, 2012. For those who have done the Barcelona one, are there any particular bad characteristics? Aiming to go sub-3:30,..finished the paris on in 3:47 with no training, and have a 1:28 half, so i reckon it's doable 

Paid today - Price is up to  €70 - There is a little stretch that is out of the city where there are no crowds and it is open to the elements as you run along the coast road - no real hills I can remember - great support towrds the end - but running up the Ramblas at 25 mile is hard as it is a bit cobbly - there is a stretch on the diagonal where you are running against people in front of you running the other way - always demotivational when you are flagging -finish is fantastic

Sheffield you can totally do that time, power of the mind, but get some serious miles in!! Massively looking forward to this run, is it thought to be a 'quick' course? generally flat but open to the elements? Really looking forward to it!!

I am looking forward it it, it does seem a good race and thanks very much Jim for the info . I have just looked and seen no vet 50 Category. It does seem a long jump from 45 to 55 . I would just be interested in where I come in my age group as I am 52.

I'm 52 as well - 6th Marathon 3:58 in Dublin in October (30 mins off previous) so I am looking to knock a bit more off that (3:50)

 Well done on knocking 30 minutes off that is fab.

My P.B is 3:42 a few years ago in Copenhagen. I would love to beat that. However my time in Rome was 3.53 last year and I really struggled towards the end with the heat . I also found the cobbles hard and ended up walking and running the last 6 miles. I hope to improve on this time and a P.B. would be fantastic but do not want to put myself under any pressure.

I'm also signed up for this.  It will be my 5th marathon - aiming to go under 3:25 (current PB 3:28).  I've heard it's a relatively quick course once you get past the first few miles...

It has a gradual uphill section for the first 2-5 miles, until you go past the Camp Nou, then it goes gradually downhill for the next few miles as you return towards the start. It is reasonably flat/undulating for the remaining miles. The last part after running down Rambles (welcome down hill section), going from Columbus statue up towards the finsh is uphill. It is not too steep but feels bad due to having 25 miles in the legs.

The above is the elevation profile from my Garmin. Not sure if that helps.

It starts approx 30 metres above sea level and rises to 70 above by mile 2.
Mile 22-23 you run up to the top of Rambles and then run back down to the bottom in miles 23-25, before running back up to the start.

Basically never more than a 40 metre change in elevation over the course.

Hope this helps