
The Almagro Marathon - Always Take Something From a Race
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The 2025 Almagro Marathon
After struggling through a 3:00 finish in the Valencia Marathon in December 2024, I felt I was in better shape than my race result showed. I, therefore, looked to the local marathon racing calendar where I found the Almagro Marathon which takes place at the end of January about 250km north of me. There was just one thing standing in my way, the Christmas and New Year holidays. This is never a great time for me and my training as it is the one time of year that I let my hair down and don't track food, running, or strength training.
I have a place in the 2025 TCS London Marathon in April. I had an excellent run in London back in 2023 when I ran a 2:56, so that was in the back of my mind. When I signed up for Almagro, the hope was to have a great run there, and go and enjoy the experience of running London. Things just didn't work out that way, and plans seldom come to pass when we don't focus on the result.

About the Almagro Marathon
This is a unique experience to say the least. The course is run over a rather short loop of just a tiny bit under 3k each. This meant that we started out with a short 800m loop before jumping on the course loop for 14 laps. Yes, 14-laps of the course. The loop is actually a decent route, with only slight inclines and slight declines. The surface is nearly all tarmac with the exception of a 20m stretch of cobbles going up a very short steep incline. If one is able for the mental challenge of running so many laps, then this would be a fairly fast course and one that could provide a Personal Best if the weather was agreeable.
The town of Almagro is beautiful. It is an old town and is the proud location of the oldest theatre in Spain, The 17th-century Corral de Comedias. There are plenty of historical buildings and one gets the feeling for its pedigree as soon as they get to the Plaza Mayor. It seems to be a thriving town these days.

The organisation of the event was superb. The bib collection on Saturday night took place at the town hall located in the Plaza Mayor with a very friendly crew on hand to make things easy. The goodie bag consisted of a few food items and the usual flyers, but also included a very nice light fleece 1/4 zip top. For the price of only €30, it was excellent value.
The race itself is very small, with approximately 150 running in the full marathon. There was a relay event as well made up of two member teams. Bibs could be collected on Sunday morning at the start line and what was race HQ. Not being too familiar with the town or the event, I did a Saturday evening recce to figure out where the start line was. On the Sunday morning however, there was the odd firework banger going off making finding the start that much easier.
The Gun Goes Off
I knew full well that I wasn't in racing shape considering the holidays and taking a few weeks off. However, I thought a 3:10 would make a nice target. Ultimately, the main goal was to start and finish feeling strong without the pace dropping too badly. I had a couple things going against me on the day, but as an experienced marathoner, I knew the risks.
The biggest challenge was going to be on-course nutrition. For the past few years I've been taking the same gels. However, these are not available in Spain, and not even online. So I had to improvise and try a couple new ones. I was resigned to this being an experiment. At the end of the day, I could have gone with fewer gels, but at the end of the day, I now know that these gels aren't going to suit me.
I took my first gel after lap 3, the second after lap 6, the third at lap 8 and the plan was to take one at lap 10 and 12. Now, this is where the plan went out the window. I had settled into a fairly steady pace until... somewhere around lap 6 (19k), after taking my second gel. My stomach started cramping pretty badly and my pace took a hit. By lap 11 it got too much and I had to stop for a toilet break.
Needless to say, this was a tough one given the circumstances. But it was a valuable experience knowing that I will need to find another gel for London. I know race day is not the day to experiment, but I was resigned to this one being an experiment before even reaching the start line.
The only other challenge on the day was the wind. As the day went on the wind picked up. Each time we turned the first corner it was a strong headwind facing us. This lasted about 1k before we turned to have it at our backs. It was always a give/take relationship and one that really did not affect the outcome of the race.
Final Result and Takeaways
I crossed the finish line in 3:15:04, securing 3rd place in the M50 category—missing 2nd place by just 2 seconds. The experience was enjoyable despite the challenges, and I appreciated the well-organized event.
Would I run Almagro again? Possibly, but Spain offers many fantastic marathon courses, including Barcelona, Seville, and Malaga. For now, I’m eager to explore new races unless friends convince me to return. However, I highly recommend Almagro to runners seeking a well-organised, affordable marathon with a unique course setup.
