Our roving runner Paul has been back on his travels, this time taking part in the Naples City half on 27 February 2022.
Here is his review of the beautiful run…
Well, after the Barcelona half last October the parental controls on my internet connection still hadn’t been blocked and I found the Naples Half in March 2022 on the list of possible races. I fancied a little trip away and although I’d been injured for a few months, I was returning to a bit of fitness again and I’d fancied this race as a target since before Christmas.
With flights having to go via Paris Naples isn’t the easiest place to get to at this time of year. But this wasn’t going to stop me and I was soon booked up and on my way, flying out on the Thursday before the race. I would travel to Positano on the Amalfi coast for a couple of nights first as I’d wanted to hike some of the Path of The Gods trail which I did in glorious sunshine and it was stunning. I recommend this if you’re down in Sorrento or on the Amalfi coast itself.
Then it was back on the local train to Naples on the Saturday and to the Expo to collect my bib and rather nice Azzurri blue shirt. My hotel was on the North of the bay of Naples high on one of the steep hills that surround the city. The benefit of this was superb views across the bay and to the course, with Mount Vesuvius in the background.
It was a stunning location and the race day morning was perfect – blue sky, sunny and cool
Paul’s take on the views and conditions
A short taxi to the start area and the excitement as always builds and I got myself ready. We were accompanied by some Italian opera as we crossed the start line which was a bit different and the race started. In this out and back course, the first few km’s were slightly downhill, through a long tunnel and eventually we hit the marina. The course took us along the marina with Vesuvius in front of us. From here the course was pretty flat, and led us all around the bay to the turn to head back. The route deviated a little here and ventured in to the old quarter before returning to the marina once again. From there it was back the way we came, this time running back up the slight incline to the finish.
Overall, this was a nice little half marathon, a good course in a stunning location. A time of 1:54 was a decent return to running this distance and it was such an enjoyable weekend of walking and running it was just a great trip. Now, I wonder what’s next!
