Orihuela Costa’s 2nd road race another success

Playa Flamenca was the setting on Sunday May 16 for the 2nd ‘Popular’ road race in the town for runners of all ages. The event almost doubled in size from 2009 with subscriptions for the race’s five-hundred available spaces for the main event quickly filled with another 68 youth participants making the occasion one of the most successful Orihuela Costa athletic events of the year so far.

The day was blessed with excellent weather and run over three distances, 8,000-metres of adults, 1,000-metres for those under eleven years-old and 2,000-metres for those twelve to eighteen. Overall winner of the men’s race was Hassane Ahouchar who covered the five miles (for those of you still using old money) in just 25:14 while the fastest lady was Fatima Ayachi in just 29:34 with the slowest runners still managing to cover the distance in under an hour.

Of the 500 who started, 339 managed to cover the distance while some couples made it a family affair running with push prams and others using it as an excuse to kill two birds with the one stone, and walk the dog! Exite Radio Spain used the occasion to raise funds for Help for Heros and before they started had collected over 300-euros with Station Manager Nick Hawkins holding his head up high and finishing the entire run in 51:20 cheered on by the rest of the team, who had decided that one lap was enough for this year and they would finish the rest of the circuit in 2011!

Keith Nicol