Well we finally did it. A marathon! A full 42km around the beautiful city of Barcelona. And it only took us 3 hours…via rollerblades! Seriously, did you really think we actually ran it? Por favor!!

D, Mary, Norbert, Gidder, John and I jumped in at the back of the herd and leisurely skated for about 10km, or so, until the masses thinned out enough for our athletic prowess to take over. The sun was out, a coolness was in the air, and Demian and my new skates were simply glistening. We managed to piss off about 7000 marathon runners as we skated by them but we did not let their comments (“trampas!”) & gestures dampen our spirits one bit! (I couldn’t understand them anyway!)

Shanti and Mary skated behind us and caught up to us at the watering station. This watering station was a little different as they were serving free beer, bread, cheese, jamon and chips and this was the perfect diet for 4 guys that decided the night before to complete this monumental task. So we drank a few, cheered on the runners, and let the crowd thin out even further before hitting the tarmac again.

I honestly could not think of a better way to see a city! Skating amongst Gaudi’s architectural masterpieces La Sagrada Familia and La Pedrera, past Camp Nou of the Barca FC, up Ramblas, along the Mediterranean, into the Barri Gotic, up through the Arc de Triomf, and then ending at Placa de Espana.

It was mind blowing. It was exhausting and if I learned one thing during, it was to never, ever run a full marathon! (kudos to those that have.)

Shanti and Mary did just over 25km (yeah!!!!!) and all of us, took in some beers, tapas, and some incredible paella marinara before taking a much needed siesta.

The pictures here are snapped from Shanti’s new Nokia N70 which takes a damn fine picture.