A Truce through the City

With Del Bosque’s men losing out to a fortuitous yet impressive English side on Saturday, the Spanish public needed some respite, or at least an adequate distraction, from the continued difficulties la selección seems to be having where friendlies are concerned. As the international break had left football fans with a whole Sunday to fill by themselves, other interests outside the sport had to be pursued.

In Madrid, sports rag Marca was on hand to provide disoriented aficionados with a wholesome activity to take part in during this match deprived day. ‘La Carrera Marca’ (The Marca Race), which started in 2010, is an annual event organised by said paper which brings both sides of the capital city’s major footballing divide together: Real and Atlético. Supporters of either club (and even the odd gate crashing Getafe or Rayo Vallecano fan) tog out in their team’s colours and compete to finish a 10km circuit through the city on foot in the fastest time possible-with the Rojiblancos claiming the bragging rights last year.

As a budding journalist and a man with scarce all else to do, I decided to join the estimated 7,999 other runners at the Santiago Bernabeú to embark on this clever marketing ploy.

However, cynicism about marketing aside, this was a fantastically well-organised event and the camaraderie between both sets of supporters, los Merengues and los Cocheneros, was a wonderful thing to behold; with countless groups of friends showing up wearing opposing colours to each other. The only bad blood I was aware of was that racing through my own veins, as the side effects of a somewhat masochistic Friday night lingered on within me.

I foolishly decided that watching my beloved Ireland beat a nine man Estonia should be celebrated with the thirst quenching assistance of an overly-priced pint of Murphy’s Red or two, followed by a few more which in turn were washed down with several more for good luck. This did my already abject fitness no favours, but promises had been made and I was damned if I was going to let fellow signees (my friend Paul and cousin Conor) do it without me and grab all the attention. So I soldiered on, scrapping myself out of bed on the crisp Sunday morning and self pityingly making my way to the starting line, where Paul met me in similar condition. Conor in a confused state thought the number 9 was in fact the number 7 on his alarm clock and had to be rudely awoken by me thirty minutes before the starting gun to ensure his participation-a panicky taxi journey through the empty Madrid streets got him to the back of the queue just in time, but we wouldn’t see him until the other side.

Fortunately for us though, the organisers were a far less sadistic bunch than our subconscious minds, which was evidenced by the down hill nature of the course so reaching the finish line was an attainable goal even for leaden footed imposters like us.

The route took us from Real’s sacred ground, down the wide, pulsating artery that is the Paseo de Castellana, past los blancos cherished fountain in Plaza de Cibeles, then past los Indio’s own revered water feature, Neptuno, up through the heart of the city, Puerta del Sol for good measure, before finishing up at Atleti’s riverside arena, the Vicente Caldéron.

Although the first three finishers wore red and white, the overall outcome of the race saw the Real contingent bag the ‘Fastest Fans’ title. Despite my choice to kit out in red and white (I just thought it was a nicer t-shirt), I would like to clarify that my performance, while not breaking any records, did not negatively impact on the Rojiblanco median time: finishing with a respectable time of 42:40.

After the podiums had been cleared and the complementary bottles of powerade had been knocked back and tossed to the ground, the competitors began to hobble off in their separate directions, all united under the same feeling of accomplishment and good will for what was an enjoyable day out.

In under a fortnight’s time both two sets of supporters will gather once again at the mythical Bernabeú. However, this will be under far less harmonious circumstances, as the “real” Derbi Madrileño is contested.

Whereas the head to head in the fun run stakes is evenly matched, the footballing accolades significantly favour los Madridistas over the course of the last few years: in their last eight league encounters Real has managed seven wins and a draw over its lowly neighbour. And going on existing form this trend looks likely to repeat itself a week from Saturday, as Mourniho’s side’s seemingly unstoppable form shows no sign of waning, especially at home where not a single point has been dropped so far this season.

This doesn’t bode well for the already under fire Gregorio Manzano, who has not exactly had the rosiest of receptions at Atleti since his appointment from Sevilla back in June. On the back of a shockingly poor 3-2 lose at the hands of a ten men Getafe, the atmosphere within the decrepit walls of the Calderon must be bleak at the moment.

Before the acrimonious reuniting of this Sunday’s Carrera athletes, both clubs have “warm up” league games this weekend, with Real away to Valencia and Atletico at home to Levante.

Before then, blisters should have fully heeled, stiffness should have eased and muscle fatigue should be a thing of the past, but one thing remains certain, the temporary amnesty of the old city rivalry will be well and truly over.