This was a new chance to run the Bilbao Night Marathon, a return inititally justified to celebrate Gorriti’s 100th marathon, which ultimately took place a week earlier in Velliza. But with everything already booked, we had to go.
This time, we traveled by car, and our hotel was right across from the San Mamés Stadium, which, in theory, was supposed to simplify logistics. It wasn’t. When we arrive at midday in Bilbao, we found all access routes near the stadium closed due to a football match. Calling the hotel, they assure that we would be allowed access, but the Ertzaintza clearly tell us that this is impossible.
Faced with this situation, we decide to kill time and visit the Guggenheim Museum, which offers free admission due to its anniversary celebrations. We take advantage of this visit and have lunch nearby, waiting until we can reach the hotel after the match.
Once again, we found all the surrounding streets closed, now because of the marathon itself. We have no choice but to park farther away, near the bus station, a short walk from the hotel. We finally arrive, passing by the early runners warming up outside San Mamés.
Rarely had we arrived so early for a race, only to end up entering the hotel just in time to prepare. With pleasant weather, I made my way down in time to enter my designated corral. Then it takes over eight minutes from the starting gun until I finally crossed the starting arch.
Once in the race, the sensations are similar to those in previous editions. With the 10k and half marathon taking place simultaneously, is necessary to weave through crowds of runners almost from the start. Things improve when we pass the Guggenheim finish area for the first time, where the half-marathon runners stop. This time I don´t mind the zig-zag sections near the river that had seemed long in previous years.
Anyhow, marathoners feel like secondary, uncomfortable participants in this event, something that will be confirmed just a few weeks later.
I crossed the half-marathon at 1:56, a more relaxed pace than I would have liked. Things don’t improve much afterward, as I keep hitting 6-minute kilometers for the 5k splits. Evening/night marathons don’t align well with my biorhythms, especially in Bilbao, where I’ve never managed to finish under four hours.
Ultimately, the same thing happens this time, with a final net time of 4:17:35, and 606 out of 846 participants reaching the finish line.
Returning to my earlier point, the Bilbao Night Marathon will lose the essence of its name in the 2025 edition, completely abandoning the 42k distance to focus on the shorter, more profitable, and less troublesome distances. Another nail in the coffin for mid-sized marathons in Spain, and another loss for the central/northern region, following the path of the now-defunct Burgos, Pamplona, or Aguilar de Campoo marathons, as well as those farther away like A Coruña or Gran Canaria, not to mention others with an uncertain future like Badajoz.
It seems that only the largest marathons survive, even if they sometimes almost collide in the calendar.
