Guimarães in 2015

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This year I chose to run the Guimarães Half Marathon. My wife and I arrived in Portugal a week before the race and did a lot of sightseeing in Lisbon before going up to Guimarães.

 Sightseeing before the race

 We had a lot of fun before race day, we visited these places, among others:



 Arco do Triunfo

Palácio Nacional de Sintra

Museu Calouste Gulbenkian

Museu Nacional do Azulejo

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

Torre de Belém

Oceanário

Castelo de São Jorge

Feira Afonsina

Castelo de Guimarães

Race Day

 At the Expo, in front of the race map:

Early in the day, ready to run:


We went early to the starting point:


All communications from the organizers had stated that the race would start at 10:30 am. We got to the start line a few minutes before ten, we thought that we had ample time for all the pre-race preparation...

 As soon as we got there, we heard the announcer say that the race would start shortly. For apparently no reason and without any warning whatsoever, they had changed the starting time to 10 am! I had to run to the end of the crowd to get ready for my race.

 Barely a minute after ten, the first runners were already leaving the starting point:


Unfortunately the organizers put two events starting at the same time and at the same place: the half marathon and a 5K walk. The walkers formed a human wall that was impossible to break free from. My first minute was wasted trying to get around the sea of walkers in front of me:


Eventually I started running. My wife waited for me near our hotel:


I stopped for a picture:


I knew already that I wouldn't have a good race, the heat was just too much. My goal was to do six minutes per kilometer, but I wasn't able to achieve that even in the first few kilometers, so I knew that with all that heat, things would only go worse at the end of the race.

 At some points I thought I was delirious with the heat, I couldn't run straight, I was zigzagging like a drunkard.

 By 10K I was already three minutes behind, so my goal went from sub-2 to just finishing. By km 15 I met another runner, we ran together for a few minutes and talked about the start time snafu. He said he was the last one to start the race, because he got to the starting area shortly before 10:30.

The race course is very beautiful, we pass by the Guimarães castle, through the historical area of the city and also through some more modern parts. It's a pity the sun was so strong, I would have liked to have more time to enjoy the scenery.

 When I crossed the finish line...

... my chronometer indicated 2h22m55s, not my best effort. But my time in the official web site appears as 2h26m01s. They didn't take out the three minutes from my starting time! Unbelievable!!

 At the end I thought I had a sunstroke:


But I was alright after all:


I was happy I had finished the race:


We went slowly back to our hotel, I took a good cold shower and we got out to celebrate one more half marathon done:

That's the life!

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