The Teamsport Gozo Half Marathon has evolved into one of the main sporting events in Gozo and one of the most craved marathons in the Maltese Islands.
The first edition of the Teamsport Gozo Half Marathon took place on the 6th of February 1977, placing it as the first road race ever to be held on the Maltese islands. Inspirational to the start of this annual event, was Fr. Anton Refalo, who had derived this idea from similar activities he had taken part in when living in Rome, Italy. In 1977, the Gozo Half Marathon was organised for 35 participants. 40 years later, they could boast participation from over 1500 athletes. It is successfully coordinated by a group of youths coming from the Xaghra Youth Centre, each having their own responsibility within the organizing committee. Sheer commitment and will has seen this event grow from a local initiative into one which caters for athletes from all over the world.
Very recent accomplishments include the 3-Star Certification award from European Athletics, which eventually resulted in the exclusive invite to participate in the first-ever European Running Business Conference, which took place in Frankfurt, Germany. They have also been awarded the 5-Star Certification for their 10K race, another first for the running scene in the Maltese Islands.
This year has been tough as the event is anticipated both from the hard-working team and runners alike. They took the decision to cancel the 45th edition of the Teamsport Gozo Half Marathon, following increased concerns regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the recent directives provided by the local authorities and the World Health Organisation, which they surely respect and abide by. This sad decision had to be taken for the general safety of the hundreds of athletes and the countless others who volunteer their time to make the Teamsport Gozo Half Marathon possible.
‘Don’t dream of winning, train for it!‘
Mo Farah
Following last year’s tremendous success, the team promised to work even harder and improve their already unique and innovative event. For the past eleven months, they have collectively volunteered their time to raise the bar by launching a brand-new Half Marathon route, the second #RunGozo Expo, the Conquer Your Run campaign and other amendments which were needed to deliver the ultimate running experience.
These changes will all be implemented in next year’s event, which will take place between the 24th and 25th April 2021. Furthermore, the current sad reality has enabled us to launch the brand new 2020 #RunGozo Virtual. So, all that work, and energy proved worthwhile!
‘Hopefully, we would start to appreciate more the simpler things life has to offer.’
Alfred tabone, gozo marathon
The team have now officially announced the first-ever Virtual Run hosted by Teamsport Gozo Half Marathon. They invite everyone to join fellow runners from around the globe, united in running during these turbulent and challenging times and there are fantastic prizes to be won too. More information on this can be found on their website.
Alfred kindly kept GITH up to speed on all things Gozo Marathon. Please take some time to check out their offerings. They have plenty of initiatives from short runs to the marathon itself and all the family can enjoy and benefit. Keep up the good work team GM!
Gozo Marathon Online: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Xaghra Youth Centre, 1688 Street, Xaghra, XRA 1031
E: info@gozomarathon.org T: +356 9933 0342