From Tony Pye…

While sensible people in Ilkley were presumably doing sensible things — staring at grey skies, arguing about whether it was warm enough for a T-shirt, debating the merits of a second biscuit — a small but plucky contingent of Ilkley Harriers had absconded to the Costa del Sol for what can only be described as a thinly disguised holiday with 21.1km of running bolted on for moral justification.

The 36th edition of the TotalEnergies Málaga Half Marathon delivered a historic day marked by record numbers of registered runners (over 12,000), consolidating its place as one of the major events on the international calendar.

With only seven turns along the entire route, the course hugs the Mediterranean coastline in a gloriously panoramic out-and-back, passing the Málaga Lighthouse and offering views that make you briefly forget your legs hurt. For those of us accustomed to dragging ourselves up Ilkley Moor in horizontal rain, running at sea level along a sun-drenched promenade felt frankly suspicious. Several Harriers were spotted checking their watches in disbelief at suspiciously quick kilometre splits.

And warm? Mild and sunny weather is a hallmark of the Costa del Sol, and race day did not disappoint — temperatures were comfortably into the mid-teens by the time the later waves set off, which felt positively tropical to anyone who’d recently done a winter training run in Wharfedale.

At the sharp end of proceedings, Kenyan runner Vincent Kipkorir claimed victory on his half marathon debut with an outstanding 59:30 — a time so fast that most of us hadn’t even finished our pre-race banana by that point. The women’s race was won by Ugandan athlete Esther Chebet in 1:06:33, with Slovenian Klara Lukan taking second in 1:06:43, a time that also earned her a new Slovenian national record. Both winners will have been home, showered, and halfway through a plate of tapas before most of us crossed the line. Good for them.

For the Ilkley Harriers, the club turned out in fine form. Tony Pye (bib 664, sub-1:30 wave — yes, he made sure you knew that) finished in 1:31, just a whisker off his personal best and comfortably inside the top 10% of finishers. A commendable run, even if he’ll spend the next fortnight explaining exactly how close to his PB it was.

Sally Malir was arguably the star of the show, completing the race in 1:48 to claim an outstanding 4th place in the FV60 age category. Competing at the sharp end of your age group in an international field of this size is no small feat — brilliant running, Sally.

Malcolm Shand (Malcy, bib 9075) crossed the line in 1:58, and Julie Shand (Jules, bib 12289) completed the course in 2:20 — both sporting their Ilkley Harriers vests with considerable pride and the slightly dazed expressions of people who have just realised that “flat course” and “easy course” are not the same thing. The wider Harriers and Airecentre Pacers crew — a fine group visible in post-race photos looking annoyingly cheerful in front of a fountain with their medals — rounded out a great day for the club.

The post-race atmosphere was everything a race should offer: medals, cold water, warm sunshine, and the particular satisfaction of knowing you’d earned your evening meal several times over. Some runners were even spotted on Málaga beach the following day, presumably checking whether 21km of flat tarmac had done any lasting damage. Conclusion: it had not.

The outstanding times achieved across the board confirm that the course has been a complete success, and for several Harriers, the combination of flat tarmac, enthusiastic crowds, and a welcome break from Yorkshire weather made this a race well worth the flight south. Highly recommended for anyone who can persuade themselves — and their club treasurer — that it counts as a training trip.

From Julie Shand…

On Sunday 15th of March Julie and Malcolm Shand headed to Malaga to join over 10,000 runners to participate in the 13.1miles /21km half marathon event. This challenge has been on their bucket list for a few years and finally the day arrived.

With a flat course, straight lines, and a scorching atmosphere, the Malaga Half Marathon has consistently seen records broken. It now ranks among the 5 fastest half marathons in history. The morning was amazing: such support, markings and marshalled with music, cheers and shouts over the whole route. The temperature was a little warmer than Ilkley!! Which also had its challenges, but once the gun went off the wave of runners settled into their pace. The race went to plan and just as the day was getting hotter Malcolm finished with a finish time of 1 hour 57 minutes, and Julie was really happy with her time of 2 hours 20 mins.

The race was won in a time of 59.38 but the course record still stands.