At this time of the year, most people are thinking about their last-minute Christmas shopping, but not Maltese distance runners. They are concentrating only on how fast they are going to run in the traditional last-Sunday-before-Christmas Urban Jungle Mdina-Spinola road race.
Next Sunday, the 10.6-mile race will start from Mdina Gate at 8 a.m. and snake its way through Attard, Hamrun, Msida, Gzira and Sliema to finish in Spinola Bay.
Often used as a reality-check of how well a runner's training has been going in the lead up to the BMW Malta Marathon, the Mdina-Spinola race always brings out a large field and, weather permitting (i.e. with the wind in the right direction), can result in some very quick finishing times.
The male and female course records belong to Kevin Zammit (unfortunately chronically injured with back pain, but never forgotten) and Carol Galea, herself the victim of some recent injuries. It is thought unlikely that the records will be threatened by any Maltese runners next Sunday.
It is still a worthy ambition for many to duck under the magical one-hour mark. A number of top Maltese males have achieved this, but to date Galea is the only female to have managed the feat. While elite males really should be looking to go sub-55 mins, there are many worthwhile targets for others in the race; going sub-65 mins, sub-70, sub-75 mins, and so on.
Surpassing one target only raises the bar for subsequent years and caution is urged in the opening miles for those who may wish to take part in the event for the first time.
With a very fast downhill start, it is easy to be sucked into beginning more quickly than planned and then begin to struggle as the race flattens at Sa Maison.
No transport to the start is provided by the organisers, therefore many runners chose to leave their cars at the finish line in Spinola and arrange for a mini-bus to take them up to Mdina. The race will start on time, so runners have to be prepared.
Registration
Welcomely low-key, it is still possible to register and enter the race at the startline, up to 30 minutes before the race start. No need for application forms and closing dates. Simply show up, pay your fee, get a race number, and run. Make sure you arrive with enough time for an adequate warm-up and still leave time to register.
Due to rising expenses, the organisers have been forced to raise the entry fee to Lm2, but is still great value for a well-organised event.
As last year, each finisher will receive a uniquely commemorative medal on crossing the finish line. There will be an award ceremony immediately afterwards with trophies for the first three places in the male and female categories, and awards in the veteran categories, again male and female.
As sponsors, Urban Jungle will be providing Nike vouchers to the first three Maltese male and female runners.