Gozo Half Marathon x Venice Marathon

When the idea of attending the 2019 edition of the Venice Marathon cropped up, everyone seemed pretty relaxed and excited about the prospect of learning from one of the leading European running events, and rightly so, what could possibly go wrong?

We booked the flights, meticulously planned our journey and some of us even started to train for a Family 4K around Venice which was one of the many events during a massive running weekender in Venice.

Then, on Thursday night, a few hours before our departure, the unthinkable happened and a transportation strike all around Italy was announced, with immediate effect.

To put it mildly, our plans were in jeopardy but as the old saying goes, “where there’s a will there’s a way” and we were not going to let a massive strike stop us from fulfilling our plans.

Two of us re-routed their flight to Venice via Istanbul and Milan, two of us took a ferry to Sicily and boarded the next flight to Venice and the rest of us flew to Rome, hoping that another flight would take us to Venice in time for our run and in time for the entire Venice Marathon weekender.  It seemed a long shot, but following a whopping team effort, we managed to arrive minutes before the start of the Venice 4K Family Run, attended by around 7,000 athletes.

And that was just the start.

Venice Marathon

Very soon we realized that all the hassle to arrive in time and witness this particular running event was worth it.  Throughout this weekend, Venice welcomed thousands of athletes from all corners of the globe for one great celebration of the running culture. 

To put things in perspective, Venice is one of the leading global touristic attractions with millions of tourists visiting its picturesque and unique historical sites and for this weekend, the whole city was transformed into a haven for around 30,000 runners and willing participants who simply love running. 

The careful and organized planning was clearly visible, even by the thousands of onlookers who happened to be in town for the Venice Marathon.  A clear distinction between the running route and the areas open for the general public was noted, something which is extremely difficult to pull off in such a dense touristic environment.  Moreover, this celebration was extremely inclusive, and everyone had a chance to participate, irrelevant to any needs which any athlete might have, something we are working really hard to achieve in the Teamsport Gozo Half Marathon.

What’s next for the Teamsport Gozo Half Marathon?

Let’s be frank, it is tough to follow the steps of such a large-scale running event.  The resources are limited, and it takes a massive joint effort between the authorities, volunteers, locals and the athletes themselves to organize an internationally renowned running event, where the stakes are extremely high. 

Although we are very much aware of all this, we have always believed in this cause and we have collectively pushed towards improving the overall standards of the local running scene.  The two European Athletics Awards awarded to our Half Marathon and 10K are proof of what volunteering and commitment could achieve, but this is just the start.  Last year, we have also launched the highly acclaimed Teamsport Gozo Half Marathon EXPO which transformed our traditional 4-hour event into a full-swing running weekender, another first in the Maltese running scene.

This wonderful experience has taught us that to achieve the highest possible standards, we must overcome many different hurdles that might come in our way unexpectedly and in a collective manner.  Our journey towards the Venice Marathon has confirmed this, but in the end, it was extremely worth it.

Until the next one.

See you in April!