The photos from the Lisbon half marathon caught my eye some years ago. The sight of hundreds of people running across the 25 de Abril Bridge over the Tagus River was amazing, and I remember thinking I would try and do it at some stage. Last autumn I saw something online about it being nearly sold out, so decided this might as well be the year and signed up. The weekend coincided with me getting results from three years of parttime study so I thought I would mark it with a little weekend trip, especially when I found cheap flights and great value hotel, it seemed like fate.
Little did I know it would be akin to monsoon season in Lisbon when the weekend came around. I arrived to grey skies, emerged from the Expo with my race number to lashing rain, and spent most of Friday afternoon and Saturday dodging downpours. I had no option but to make an emergency shopping trip to buy dry clothes as by the Saturday evening everything I had packed was soaked and I didn’t want to waste any more time drying things with a hairdryer.
Anyway, back to the race and I’d heard from previous years the Lisbon Half can be somewhat disorganised. Its also a bit of a faff getting to the start as the only option is by train and while you are recommended a time train for your wave, it’s really a free for all. Knowing this, with a 9.30am start I decided to leave early and headed off into the drizzle at 7am. The train arrived, but there was no hope of getting on…I’m not sure how they managed to get all the doors closed. I’ve seen the Luas at rush hour, but this was next level crowded. Luckily the next train was a bit better, and I even managed to get a seat.
We crossed the river and arrived at the station. From there it was a 10-minute walk to the start area. Amazingly, for the first time in two days the rain stopped…then came a lot of hanging around, and apart from one brief torrential downpour, the sky cleared. Eventually at 9.15 they let people into their waves. I don’t know why they bothered with them, no one stayed in them, it was easy to move forward and back. A bus with VIPs arrived and were let into the front also – I found out later the VIP buses were filled with people who had paid extra for a VIP pass to avoid the train and start up front. It meant there was every pace in every wave. The 6 min per km pacer was up front in wave one chatting to the 5 min per km pacer as we started. Not sure how that would have worked out seeing as those aiming for 2 hours were in wave 4.
Just as the gun went off the sun appeared and luckily it stayed nice for the rest of the morning. Unfortunately, I, along with a lot of other runners, had dressed for the rain and cold, so overheated a bit in leggings and a jacket, but it was a small price to pay for the thrill of running over that bridge. That really was a great experience and the atmosphere was super. The rest of the route is somewhat uninspiring, but welcome downhills, good support, and a bit of banter with other runners occasionally made it a fun experience. It was all very noneventful, right until I turned the corner to the finish and couldn’t believe what I saw – tailbacks…the finish area was the most chaotic I have ever seen, it was impossible to run over the timing mat, there was a huge crowd at a standstill, the only option was to shuffle along over the mat eventually and then slowly on to where we were given a water, an ice cream and a nice medal featuring that incredible bridge.
I heard stories after the race of people who couldn’t get to the start on time because of train issues, who missed bag drop and had to run with their belongings, and of general chaos. I was so glad my hotel was near the finish, and I hadn’t bothered with bag drop. Despite the rain I really enjoyed exploring Lisbon, there is something charming about its hilly streets, colourful, dilapidated architecture and friendly people. Then there are the pasteis de nata.
I’m glad I did the race, apart from a lot of waiting around and the disorganised finish, my experience was pretty good. I think if you don’t mind a bit of chaos, it’s a nice event. If they sorted out the final traffic jam at the finish area it would even be a good place for anyone aiming for a PB as its mostly flat and where it’s not, its downhill.
