The Autonomous Community of Euskadi is composed of three provinces: Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa. Bilbao is located in Bizkaia and we’ve used its extensive public transit network to explore almost every corner of the province. Beyond Bizkaia we have also spent time in Gipuizkoa, visiting Donostia and other coastal towns. We have also ventured [briefly] into Álava to visit wineries in Rioja Alavesa. However, our exploration of that province has been much more limited.
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital of both the province of Álava and Euskadi at-large, but we hadn’t yet found a reason to visit it. Then, in November, I began to increase my running mileage and decided to look for a nearby half-marathon. I found the Maratón Martín Fiz, scheduled for mid-May, and immediately registered for the 21K event.
Maratón Martín Fiz 21K
Instead of chronicling our itinerary in order, I’m going to start with the race on Sunday. It was the reason for our trip and deserves to be the center of attention!
Before our departure I had reason to worry about the weather on race day. The last several weeks have been very rainy in Euskadi, with near daily downpours. While the forecast for the weekend in Vitoria-Gasteiz did look to be drier, advance weather predictions aren’t the most reliable in País Vasco. I packed gear for all sorts of conditions, but the weather on race morning was perfect [sunny with mild temperatures], which led to a wonderful race.
The start and finish lines were located at Mendizorrotza Estadioa, home of the futbol team Deportivo Alaves. While the total number of participants was probably the smallest of any race I’ve run, the start was quite congested. They did not use waves to stagger the start, so every participant running every distance started within about ten minutes. This impacted my pace on the first mile, when on a typical race day adrenaline means I’m at my fastest. Fortunately things cleared out after a couple of kilometers and I was soon able to make-up most of the time I’d lost.
Whenever I told someone in Bilbao where I was running this race they responded that it’d be a great place to run because Vitoria-Gasteiz is completely flat. They were correct. According to my Forerunner the total elevation gain on the race route was less than 250 feet. This helped me maintain a strong pace for 21 kilometers. [Bilbao also has its fair share of flat portions, especially along the ria, where I run. However, it is also surrounded by mountains. It is possible to hike routes from the city center with an elevation change of more than 2,000 feet. The same cannot be said of Vitoria-Gasteiz!]
While a large portion of the course was outside of the city, the half-marathon did include a segment through La Almendra Medieval, the historic center. Living in DC and Bilbao I’ve often run by monuments and interesting architecture, but running through centuries-old plazas and past stunning medieval architecture still made for a memorable race. The segment of the course in La Almendra was very near the end and the joy it brought me actually meant that I quickened my pace on the final two miles. This helped me set a PR and made for some great race photos!
Beyond the Race: Exploring Vitoria-Gasteiz
Ruta IMVG
Part of Vitoria-Gasteiz is known as la Ciudad Pintada [the Painted City]. This is due to a series of murals that were painted starting in 2007. I’m a huge fan of street art, so we spent our first afternoon on an urban hike, following the Itinerario Muralístico de Vitoria-Gasteiz.
The murals can be found throughout La Casca Almendrena and the buildings on which they are painted often have medieval towers in view in the background. In some cases, while walking along a narrow street, we noticed a bright pop of color. After taking a few more steps a vibrant mural [or two] appeared. Other murals are more hidden and were difficult to admire from close range. Regardless of their location, all of them are stunning!
El Anillo Verde
Vitoria-Gasteiz was declared the Green Capital of Europe in 2012 thanks to the parks that can be found throughout and surrounding the city. This network of green spaces, known as El Anillo Verde [the Green Ring], stretches for more than 30 kilometers.
Part of El Anillo Verde is Salburua Parkea, a reclaimed wetland on the outskirts of the city. Some of the park’s trails lead to a lagoon that is frequented by migratory birds. We spent an afternoon walking through Salburua Parkea and admiring the birds from the observation decks that they’ve built along the lagoon. [Sadly, without a special camera, I was unable to capture high-quality pictures/video of the beautiful birds we saw that afternoon, but I still loved watching them.]
Other Highlights
I took shockingly few pictures of food over the weekend, but we did eat very well! Our favorite spot was PerretxiCo, a restaurant recommended by one of my doctors when I told her about the trip. On our first night we had an amazing dinner there that included a gorgeous tomato salad and carrilleras de cerdo [pork cheeks]. We loved it so much that we returned over the weekend for pintxos.
Similar to Pamplona, we found Vitoria-Gasteiz’s pintxos to be unique from those that we’re accustomed to in Bilbao. Instead of a slice of bread with various toppings, pintxos in Vitorria-Gasteiz are more like the tapas found outside of Euskadi. While they are on display on most bars and do not require ordering from a menu, the pintxos that we enjoyed were small portions of what might typically be ordered as a larger dish [ración].
Our favorites included an ensalada de pulpo [🐙] and the donut de cocido vasco at PerretxiCo.
We didn’t enter either of the famous cathedral or visit any museums. The race and outdoor activities were the focus of our trip. [Luckily the weather cooperated!] But we did enjoy walking the streets of La Almendra Medieval and admiring the historic architecture.
Up Next
I won’t be running long distances in the weeks/months ahead, especially given the dramatically warmer temperatures that forecasts claim to be headed our way. However, I do plan to maintain at the 10K mark, in case I decide to register for another half-marathon this year. [I haven’t chosen a race yet, but I do have my eye on a couple of events this fall/winter.]