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Success for the Formentera Half Marathon

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This afternoon Formentera hosted the V Island of Formentera Half Marathon, highly-successful both in terms of runner participation and turn-out by the public, there to support the 1,300 participating athletes from the race's start at La Mola lighthouse to its finish line, located at the promenade of the Formentera marina. And in addition to all this were the 600 runners who participated in the day's other event, the 8 km run.

The race took place without incident today, on a day when meteorological conditions were marked by wind. The great success of the day's event, where the islanders' love and drive for sport were palpable, lay in the levels of participation witnessed. Compared to the 101 runners registered at the first race, held five years ago, this year's event boasted 1,300 participants and well as 10 different nationalities.

These figures are an indicator of the draw and importance that the half marathon have, and of the suitability of organizing an interurban race of these characteristics on an island like Formentera.

With a total of 13 categories, men's and women's, the V Island of Formentera Half Marathon included participants from all over the world. Among the countries in attendance were Italy, U.S.A., France, England, Germany, Argentina, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and Brazil, and still more were added to the list, exceeding previous expectations of participation.

The winner of this year's general men's category was Samuel Ángel Urbano, with a time of 1:12:11”, faster than last year's winner – Jonatan Gómez – who completed the race with a time of 1:12:21”.

José Antonio Planells, of Club Hotel Pachá, made second place with 1:14:15”, followed by the third in classification, Eivissan Daniel González, of Triatló Santa Eulàlia. The champion in the women's category was Irene Antola, who beat last year's champion – Marta Miglioli – with a 1:21:53” finishing time. Miglioli made second place with 1:25:17”, an improvement to the time she ran last year. The third to classify in the women's category this year was Laura Boada (Evasión Running), coming in at 1:33:52”.

This year's 8 km run almost tripled its number of participants, with 600 individuals running the 8 kilometre route that went from Sant Ferran to the Port of La Savina. The first place in general men's was occupied by José Carlos Añibarro, of the Club de Apuestas y Piques, improving the time he clocked last year for Gauden Villas with 00:28:54” clocked this year. He was followed by José López Uceda, 00:29:13”, and David Aragón Castaño, in third place after arriving at the finish line in 30 minutes and 31 seconds. In the 8 km women's category, first place was won by Susana Gavilà Valls, with 0:32:50”, followed by Núria Gascuñana (0:36:07”) and in third, Patricia Català Llistó, who arrived at the finish line in 0:37:30”.

The run had the assistance of a large safety team, which included collaboration by a medical service, an ambulance service, a highway safety team formed by local police, the Guàrdia Civil and Civil Protection. It would also be impossible to ignore the work of the 150 individuals who made the race a reality, 60 of whom were volunteers.

In an additional safety measure, all participating athletes were covered by an insurance policy contracted by the organisers to serve in case of accident, and over the course of the run there were five refreshment stations, set up at kilometres 5, 10, 15, 19 and the finish line. This service was extended further still by the organisation of a team of physical therapists tending to runners at the finish line. New this year were the water sprinklers at the two final refreshment stations, conceived as a way to cool down athletes on the final stretch of the race. After all the runners had reached the finish line, organisers proceeded by awarding trophies to the first three individuals to classify in each category. Jaume Ferrer, president of the Formentera Council, and Sergio Jiménez, councilor of Sport, were on hand to perform this honour. As had been the case last year, 1,000€ were raised for the NGO Red Deporte y Cooperación toward the goal of building funds for sport and social projects in Africa (www.redeporte.org). This will mark the fourth year of collaboration between the run and the organisation.

The Island of Formentera People's Half Marathon has established itself as a sporting event of reference on the island and it is currently the Balearic Islands' second biggest run in terms of registered athletes. This weekend a total of 1,900 people came to Formentera to run the race, and, taking into account accompanying friends and family members, the event may well have meant the arrival of some 4,000 individuals to the island.

Organised by the Formentera Department of Education and the Unisport Consulting company, the V Half Marathon was a run-away success, with an organisation that was praised by participants and where a strong sense of good sportsmanship was evident throughout. The success of this Saturday's event helped diffuse the effects of heat and guarantee participant safety. The Formentera Island Council wishes to thank Trasmapi, one of the event's sponsors. More information is available on the websites www.marato-formentera.com and www.elitechip.net.

TOP CLASSIFIED IN HALF MARATHON
MEN'S
First. Samuel Ángel Urbano. 1:12:11”
Second. José Antonio Planells. Club Hotel Pachá. 1:14:15”
Third. Daniel González Álvarez. Triatló Santa Eulàlia. 1:14:43”

WOMEN'S
First. Irene Antola. Atletica Livorno. 1:21:53”
Second. Marta Miglioli. Atletica Piacenza. 1:25:17”
Third. Laura Boada Pibernat. Evasión Running. 1:33:52”

TOP CLASSIFIED IN 8 KM
MEN'S
First. José Carlos Añibarro. 0:28:54”
Second. José López Uceda. 0:29:13”
Third. David Aragón Castaño. 0:30:31”

WOMEN'S
First. Susana Gavilá Valls. 0:32:50”
Second. Núria Gascuñana. 0:36:07”
Third. Patricia Català Llistó. 0:37:30”

Media

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premsa@conselldeformentera.cat