As happened in previous years, the 2012 Mdina to Spinola race and the 2013 Malta Marathon saw a record number of participants.
With applications already flowing in, the early indications are showing that there will again be a record number of participants for next month’s Urban Jungle Mdina-Spinola and the 2014 Vodafone Malta Marathon.
This year the Malta Marathon Organising Committee (MMOC) was asked by the Żurrieq Wolves Athletic Club to organise the half marathon at their locality.
The MMOC added a 10K to the traditional half marathon and on November 3, 600 runners took part in either of the two races.
This has immediately made the Żurrieq Half Marathon and 10K the third most popular athletic events after the Malta Mara-thon and the Mdina-Spinola.
Once again, I must mention the late John Walsh.
Even though he could not be involved in the promotion and organisation of the Żurrieq races, this was still another tribute to his dedication to local athletics and the 27 years he spent with the MMOC.
The 2013 Mdina-Spinola race will once again have chip timing to record the participants’ times and positions.
Since over the past years we have been promoting the M2S as a Christmas run we have decided to introduce something relevant to the theme. We should be having a band at the start and finish playing songs related to the occasion.
We are also encouraging participants to wear Christmas caps at the M2S and we further encourage the more outgoing ones to take part in a full Father Christmas suit. With just three days before Christmas Day, let’s take on the Yuletide spirit!
There will be an increased presence in traffic management to make the route as safe as possible for the runners. Again, a nice chunky dated medal will be given to all finishers.
As already mentioned, we already have a record number of registrations for the 2013 M2S, so if you want to participate you need to apply now as there is a limit to the number of runners that can be accepted.
Remember there is also a time limit of 2 hrs 30 mins by which participants must finish... this is equivalent to three hours for a half marathon, so fast walkers may also join in. To apply go to www.maltamarathon.com/application_forms.htm.
Registration for the 2013 UJ M2S will take place at the Nike Store, Tigne Point, from Tuesday, December 17 to Saturday, December 21 between 10am and 6pm.
With regards to the 2014 Vodafone Malta Marathon and Half Marathon preparations are also underway and applications are coming in faster than last year.
We are working hard on having photos of participants being uploaded to Facebook while the event is still in progress.
Another aspect that we have to work on is the increasing number of participants... we are at a stage where the logistics of the event have become rather complicated.
The amount of medals, T-shirts, chips, San Michel water, Powerade, sponges and bananas that need to be distributed now runs in the thousands... some 50,000 units to be more precise.
It’s not only the number of participants that is rising, the spectators along the route and, in particular, at the finish have more than doubled. We will be trying to address this and upgrading of the infrastructure at the finish should be carried out.