The Barcelona Marathon boasts many fine landmarks along the course, including the Camp Nou (home of Barcelona FC) and the Cathedral of Sagrada Familia but it is safe to assume that Maurice Looby and Colm Walsh were taking little notice of the scenery on Sunday 7th March as they made their way along the course that is advertised to be flat, but judging by their self-confessed shattered state at the finish, both will testify that it is most certainly not flat.

Despite the gruelling test, and what marathon does not push an athlete to the limit, both were absolutely delighted with their finish times – Maurice in 2:39:42 and Colm in 2:57:11. Maurice collapsed over the line but refused the stretcher and Colm was just as exhausted but the satisfaction of breaking his pre-race goal kept him on his feet. To put Maurice’s time in perspective, it will now qualify him for an elite runner number in most of the big city marathons, which is terrific.

These are tremendous performances and the post-race message from Maurice bests sums up the marathon experience – “I went through an entire life during the race: excited like a baby at the start; felt strong like a man in his prime in the middle; felt dead at the end.” Sentiments familiar to most marathon runners!