I set off from the LOVE sign in St Julians at 04:00 after a 2km ‘warm up’! The first 20km were easy to navigate and passed without incident. The path around from Xemxija to Ghadira bay was more difficult to follow in parts and I took a few wrong turns. On the plus side, I found some new deserted beaches to visit on my rest days! I found my rhythm again and continued around the north of the island again without hindrance until passing the Cirkewwa ferry terminus. Here, it looks as if you are about to pass out and around a headland. Instead, the path takes you along a low lying rocky outcrop where the use of the word ‘trail’ is stretching it’s definition! Nonetheless a bit of rock climbing added to the sense of adventure and if anything encouraged me to embrace the true nature of an FKT. I continued down to Golden bay and met with my crew at 50km for the first time.
I continued south easterly with a bit of a tail wind past Gnejna and into the hilly section. I knew this but would be tough going but it was made worse by me being met by a ‘private land, no entry sign’. I had to think on my feet and reconfigure my route to bypass this. I headed inland before turning back on myself to rejoin the coast path. This may have added on a few kilometres and some hills but I didn’t let it effect my spirit!
I made an emergency call for an additional crew stop at Ghar Lapsi and put that on my radar as the next checkpoint. The descent into Ghar Lapsi was tough on the quads and things were starting to hurt. This was only marking the half way point. After refuelling and stretching in Ghar Lapsi I navigated the section to the Hal Far temples. I wasn’t sure on the maps if I could pass this way and it did require some scrambling to reach the top. I knew this marked the end of the tougher sections and onto patches I knew better. The next pit stop was Birzebbugia and things were looking up a little.
Coming into Birzebbugia you are first met by an industrial estate. This seems to last forever (about 6km) before you actually reach the beach and my third pit stop of the day. I knew the flatter sections were coming but I was approaching as far as I had ever run and was struggling to comprehend continuing. I rallied and got to my feet. Running hurt no less than walking and I pushed forwards.
Continuing around through Marsaxlokk and Xrobb L-ghagin was slow going. There were more short detours and paths that didn’t exist. At one point there was a wall built across my footpath for no apparent reason except to impede my progress!
I knew my wife and child were coming to meet me soon and that gave me the drive to push. The three cities weren’t far away and that marked the end of the hills. I passed through Marsascala with renewed vigour and was moving well. I put a smile on my face and this reflected on the inside.
I continued to move well through the three cities and was happy to see a friend on a bike who had come to keep me company for the last section. Then another two came and I had a convoy! The stretch had arrived and there was nothing that was going to stop me. The sun had set, the head torch was back on and I knew pizza and beer were waiting for me. I passed through Sliema and could smell the finish. I put in one more injection of pace and recorded my fastest kilometre of the day in the final stretch! Family and friends were there to greet me with smiles and cheers.
It was a great day out on a course that comprises 50/50 trail to road. There are sections that are quite technical and make slow progress but plenty of others where you could through down the hammer. One major detour was better than I expected. It was overall a warm day which was not what I’m used to so I resorted to taking in more calories through hydration than I would normally.
I completed this challenge in aid of Puttinu cares, a Maltese charity dedicated to supporting children with cancer. At time of writing I have raised £773.
I love the principles of FKT and this has certainly only spurred me on to find my next adventure.