It was not about the few pounds that had appeared in December, or pre empting the New Years resolutions to get fit. The 3rd Arona San Silvestre Golden Mile run was a fun gathering for all ages, on the edge of Playa de Las Americas and Los Cristianos in Tenerife,with 19 categories of races from short dashes for young children of 4 and 5 upwards, to the full 5 km route down to the sea, along the front, and back along The Golden Mile. It’s fame is growing, and the afternoon farewell to 2018 had an international feel, with the two overall winners coming from Germany.

Jannik Arbogast headed the field with a time of 15.28.39 and Johanna Flacke was the leading lady in 18.26.57. They were in a party of five friends from Karlsruhe , near the southern border of Germany, members of the local athletics club and also keen cyclists with Bikronos. The run was the perfect topping for their two week training trip to Tenerife. In between them, second placed Ayoze Perez Tejera (no 3), representing Trivalle Guimar Restaurante, clocked 15.35.09, and third overall was Miguel Angel Vaquero Agama (no 2) for the Tenerife Caja Canarias team in 15.41.51. Wigs and multi coloured skirts were a good clue to distracted shoppers and holiday makers that it wasn’t all about winning.

Running with a group of friends was a popular idea, the Charco del Pino Farmacia werea great advert for good health, in fact they were in the pink. Sport and Beers might not be recommended by some doctors but their team still had a healthy orange glow at the end of the race. Evolution with their Santa suited under his red robes, poured themselves some cold Dorada’s at the end of their team effort. Trust the Glasgow ladies to find the Dorada, but you do have to replenish your liquids. Pauline Douglas, a fitness instructor, and Valarie Davidson were over on a weeks holiday, saw an advert for the race, and signed up.

There was a good sprinkling of British in the run, 60 year old Phllip Seddon is a keen runner with Darwen Dashers in Lancashire. As well as being a regular in the London Marathon, he had recently taken part in the Cyprus Marathon, and his Tenerife holiday was boosted when he saw an advert for the San Silvestre. Wigan now has a reputation as the running capital of the UK, after an amazing haul by five family friends. Sami and Zak Manir-Jolley took the first places in their junior categories, Lynn Manir-Jolley got second in hers, a feat equalled by 16 year old Ben Woods, Mo Manir-Jolley added a third in his own group. Lynn and Mo run for Wigan Phoenix, and the other three are members of Wigan Harriers. Watch out for Ben Woods, he is also an accomplished footballer who plays for the Academy team of Burnley FC.

It took a mammoth effort by Arona Council and their team of organisers to make the afternoon run so smoothly with 800 runners taking part. The entrance fee was a mere five or ten euros depending on how early you signed up, and that included a commemorative vest, medal, and extra awards for the top three in each category. There was also plenty of free water, bananas, and even cake to replace the runners energy after their exertions. Look out for the 31st December 2019 race at www.gesportcanarias.com