San Sebastian, Spain - Distance Running magazine

Maraton Donostia – San Sebastian, SpainApersonalNOVEMBER252012San Sebastian is a beautiful touristdestination on the Atlantic coast of theBasque Country. Capital of Guipuzcoa, itoffers a wide range of activities throughoutthe year, attracting thousands of visitors.Walking around the beautiful streets of thetown, past historic buildings and sparklingbeaches visitors cannot fail to beimpressed. San Sebastian is a paradise forfood-lovers with many good restaurantsserving delicious tapas; and also for peoplewho appreciate culture and music. SanSebastian has recently been named 2016European Capital of Culture.Among the town’s specialist offerings is theMarathon. The DKV San Sebastian Marathon isone of the fastest in the world. Just come to SanSebastian and let your imagination float, let yourfive senses run free, and let your legs fly.Back on 15 October 1978 San Sebastian held itsfirst marathon. It was a great success with 2600participants, a number that would only besurpassed in 1993. Local newspapers at the timespoke about 10,000 people watching the startand more than 60,000 people lining the course.best marathonBy Alvaro OlavarríaIn October 1993 SanSebastian hosted theIAAF World MarathonCup; it was its mostinternational edition andit was the first timetransponders were usedfor time keeping. Therace was won by theBritish runner RichardNerurkar in 2:10:03.The 2012 race was the35th – this year the36th edition will be heldon 24 November 2013. The course is practicallyflat, at sea level, and passes through some of themost attractive parts of the town, such as the bayand the famous Concha Beach. This is why it hasbeen attracting more and more runners every year.The streets are full of people cheering andclapping and giving the runners that extraencouragement to make it to the finish line.Members of the Chinese Team setting an early pace duringthe IAAF World Marathon Cup at San Sebastian in 1993.Picture: Anton Want/AllsportIt is a marathon both for elite runners andamateur runners. The course records are a goodindication of how fast a course it is: Ana IsabelAlonso’s women’s record is 2:26:51, and the men’srecord stands at 2:09:39. There is a time limit offive hours so runners aiming at a pace of7min/km will find themselves comfortablyaccommodated..“I really enjoyed the race and the town. Lovely place and people. The race wasimpressive, with lots of fast young runners. I did 3:24 which was good for me,but I could have managed my race better. Found a lovely restaurant in theOld Town on Sunday. Would love to come back again”Gary W, UKContinued on page 39“Thanks a lot for organizing a perfectmarathon. Everything was really great!There were hot showers, excellentsupport along the course andwelcoming, motivating spectators.We spent three wonderful days inSan Sebastian. Unfortunately the timewas too short to see everything wewanted to see. Be sure I will informfriends and come back ...”Lukas K, GermanyConcha BeachPicture: Aritz GordoDistance Running | 2013 Edition 1 37

Maraton Donostia – San Sebastian, SpainThe Bay of La Concha at nightPicture: ACC ComunicacionContinued from page 37Some telling statistics testify to thefavourable nature of the course:same course, with a one-hour timelimit. Registrations for both raceswill be open from April atwww.maratondonostia.com• 75% of runners improved theirpersonal best• 17% of runners finished in underthree hours• 56% of runners finished in underthree and a half hours• 88% of runners finished in underfour hoursThe spectacular finish line is locatedinside the Anoeta Stadium, home ofthe local football team RealSociedad. Video cameras are locatedat five different places along theroute and participants can downloadclips of themselves passing thedifferent points.There is also a10km race alongsidethe Marathon, using part of the■ San Sebastian Marathon facts:November is low season so planetickets are usually quite reasonable.The town has good transport serviceand connections. There are fiveairports, three of them international,within 100km, and the nearest isonly 20 minutes’ drive away. All ofthe airports offer connections withSpain’s main cities such as Madridand Barcelona. Trains also run toSpain’s main cities and tointernational destinations such asParis and Lisbon.The organization offers some hotelsthrough its travel agency. The officialrace hotel is Silken Amara Plaza, just300m away from Anoeta Area,where the start and finish line arelocated.Next race date: 24th November 2013Start time: 09.00 for Marathon and 09.10 for 10kmStart line: Avenida Madrid (next to Anoeta Stadium)Participants: 3000 for marathon & 1000 for 10km (approx.)Route: almost flat at sea level, going through the town’shistoric center and beside its beautiful beaches. Three laps:one small 6km lap and two bigger identical laps of 18km.Finish line: inside Anoeta StadiumRegistrations: online at www.maratondonostia.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/maratonsansebastianTime limit: 5 hours for the Marathon & 1 hour for the 10kmPuente Santa CatalinaPicture: Aritz GordoAbove: themarathon routeBelow: inside AonetaStadium, the venue for therace finish. Picture:Dilema/WikimediaCommonsResultMEN:1 Asier Cuevas ETTCHETO ESP 2:23:232 Ibon ESPARZA OLANO ESP 2:29:003 Salvador PALOMARES ESP 2:29:384 Ibon Bengotetxea ZABALA ESP 2:29:435 Xabat Manzisidor ERMINA ESP 2:29:586 Moray ANDERSON GBR 2:30:127 Mark RYALL GBR 2:31:218 Sabin Arruti MANCISIDOR ESP 2:32:489 Inaki Marsal NICUESA ESP 2:32:5310 Etor Etxeandia LEJARZEGI ESP 2:33:42WOMEN:1 Ma Yoland Gutierrez ROBLES ESP 2:45:432 Amaia Ostolazo ANTELO ESP 2:49:323 Ma Lopez de Tejada RUIZ ESP 2:52:514 Claudia Behobide ALCAIN ESP 2:56:285 Amaia Zuloaga EIZAGUIRRE ESP 3:00:416 Kelly WILLIS GBR 3:01:557 Eneritz Sein A-GOMEZKORTA ESP 3:02:178 Maite Mayora ELIZONDO ESP 3:02:339 Sarah DUDGEON GBR 3:02:4310 Leire Aguirrezabala EZKURDIA ESP 3:06:5410KMMEN:1 Antonio ETXEBERRIA ESP 30:592 Lionel PETRIARQ 31:133 Benjamin FREDRICH 31:41WOMEN:1 Nerea Abrego ANTIA ESP 36:212 Christelle LARRERE 37:433 Cristina Loeda SOTO 38:12Distance Running | 2013 Edition 1 39

40 Distance Running | 2013 Edition 1