At my first start in Barcelona in February 2023, I improved my half-marathon best time as part of the Mitja Marató de Barcelona. In 1:10:57 hours, I even achieved my first 1:10 half marathon time on the fast streets of the Catalan metropolis of millions.

Twelve months later, I started again at the Mitja Marató de Barcelona. After the rush for starting places the previous year, even more people wanted to secure one of the coveted starting numbers in 2024. Well, over 28,000 bibs had already been allocated some time before the race and the internationally renowned running event was therefore fully booked.

After exploring the city a little in the days leading up to the race and representing Runner's World at a Brooks media event, where interesting shoe and technology innovations were presented, a surprisingly strong wind awaited me on Sunday morning. I had expected some wind based on the weather forecast and the weather of the previous days. However, I was a little surprised that it was going to be so windy on race day.

With our Top4Running friend Andrew, I passed the 10-kilometre mark as planned after 33:36 minutes, which was exactly my best pace. However, the last few kilometres were increasingly into the wind, which cost me time as expected. I stopped my watch after 1:11:38 hours. Not another 1:10 time, but definitely satisfactory, so that I could happily start my journey home to the north in the evening.
Foto: Norbert Wilhelmi

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