The 21km route, that follows the coast all the way from Alicante to Santa Pola, is dubbed “The Greatest Mediterranean Race” but, unfortunately due to the devastating effects of Storm Dana, the 2024 race was cancelled.
This was disappointing news for the 16 Curious Runners who had just reached the end of their 12-week plans and had spent all week mentally and physically preparing for the race. Packed and ready for the journey when they received the news, we proceeding with the trip as planned — after all, there was a villa and 4 days in the sun waiting for us!
The adventure began early on Saturday morning with a 6 am departure to Gatwick but it wasn’t the smoothest start – after an aborted takeoff due to a last-second wing malfunction, the flight was delayed for three hours.
Naturally, this slight hiccup couldn’t dampen the excitement and we eventually touched down in Alicante and checked into their beautiful villa, ready for what would become an unforgettable Curious Runners Retreat.
Despite the cancellation, runners were still invited to the race expo to collected their goodie bags and “finisher” t-shirts. Feeling like we should earn them, the next day (what would have been race day) 12 of us made our way to the starting line and took on the 21km coastal route from Alicante to Santa Pola. While the remaining four, swiftly booking into another half marathon the following weekend, opted for a shorter run.
Only a few of us who ran the challenging, undulating course actually found it enjoyable under the relentless heat and a much-needed ice cream stop was to thank for keeping many of us moving.
We all felt a huge sense of camaraderie as we past and high-fived other would-be racers and a massive sense of achievement as we drank our celebratory beer and ate our champion’s pizza — we certainly earned those t-shirts!
After conquering the unofficial race, the team settled back at their villa for two days of well-deserved rest, relaxation, and plenty of fun. With no shortage of activities on hand – tennis, water volleyball, boules, pool, and table tennis. There was no way we were going to spend the time sunbathing!
We feasted like kings and queens with the world’s largest paella and a lively BBQ, which brought everyone together.
And, while no one returned home from Spain with a PB, the weekend was a tremendous success. The Curious Runners Retreats are about more than just a race and with planning for 2025 already underway, we’re more excited than ever to see where their next adventure will lead!
