Kipyoge crosses the finish line in first position. /
The first edition of the test brought together almost two thousand athletes in a race that started half an hour late
The threat of rain that finally did not come was presented as the main fear at the premiere of the ‘Bilbao Bizkaia Marathon’, proof that it has the collaboration of EL CORREO. However, the surprise for the almost two thousand runners who gathered first thing this Sunday at the Puente de La Salve was when the start time arrived and no one fired the gun. A lack of signalmen at certain points of the test, which “prevented guaranteeing its full security”, according to the statement that the organization published on its website, delayed the start of the marathon thirty minutes and an hour and a half the ‘ Aspanovas Bilbao Bizkaia 10K’, a ten kilometer race that ran through the streets of Bilbao at the same time as the queen event.
The initial contingencies, for which the race management wanted to apologize: “We are aware of the damage caused and that is why we want to reiterate our apologies, guaranteeing that we will take measures to avoid such eventualities in future editions”, passed for a better life when the protagonists began to trot. In strictly sports, the Kenyan Zaphaniah Kipyego won, who started as the favorite, and the Ecuadorian María Mercedes Pila, who crossed the finish line visibly excited.
A very flat route, with a low altimetry -barely 25 meters above sea level through the streets of Bilbao, practically zero once the runners faced the estuary towards Getxo-, allowed the athletes to squeeze their best times and fly over the Biscayan asphalt. There were only 30 90-degree corners, data that invites you to beat records, in a competition that was once again like the ones before the pandemic ended for more than a year with these massive and necessary events.
The favorites fulfilled
There were no surprises in the men’s event. Kipyego flew in Bilbao, Erandio, Leioa and Getxo and was just four minutes short of the best marathon mark recorded in the capital, just four minutes ahead of his compatriot and main rival Esito Ekiru, with whom he trains daily in Nairobi. The Moroccan Zouhair El Janati entered third place, while the Vitorian Ander Barrio, a member of the team of the historic record holder Martín Fiz, was the first national runner to arrive at the Guggenheim Museum to tie the chocolate medal on the cold Biscayan morning.
As for them, the Spanish champion was the fastest on the Right Bank. The Ecuadorian María Mercedes Pila, who has lived in Jarandilla de la Vera (Cáceres) for years, led a test that had a practically uniform altimetry above sea level along 42,195 meters, quite a challenge for someone who was born in a small town at more than 3,000 meters of altitude. The South American was almost four minutes ahead of Madrid’s Tamara Sanfabio, another of the favorites for the title at Botxo. She completed the third drawer of the podium, already under three hours, the Santander Juani Alcalde, fireproof at almost 50 years that she will be in July.
Same goal, the Guggenheim Museum, had the small but demanding test of the day. Under the auspices of the Aspanovas Foundation (Association of Mothers and Fathers of Girls, Boys and Adolescents with Cancer of Bizkaia), many amateur runners from the Basque Country and other parts of the country gathered at the ‘Aspanovas Bilbao Bizkaia 10K’.
Biscayan champion in 10K
The fans celebrated the undisputed local victory in the women’s category. The Durango club runner Jone Fuente, 19 years old and a native of Galdakao, took the victory with a time of 41:54, ahead of her teammate, the Gipuzkoan Miren Apraiz (42:18), and the Madrid Olga Rye (42:25). Miguel Ferrer from La Rioja was the fastest among the men with a time of 32:01, slightly higher than Gerard Ribé from Madrid (32:05) and Marcos Rojo from Palencia (32:15).
Hundreds of fans, from the inhabitants of the capital to the residents of Ereaga beach, took advantage of their morning walks to encourage the runners, who despite the uncertainty in the early hours enjoyed a festive day and which turned out to be one more indicator that athletics and Bizkaia are good travel companions.
