The ‘most historic, innovative and iconic road race in the Maltese islands’ celebrates its fiftieth running on the 27th of April this year. Il-Ġirja t’Għawdex, which started in 1977 and spent twelve years as a ten-mile race before becoming an iconic half marathon, has evolved into one of Gozo’s premier sporting events, now drawing runners from all over the world.
Inspired by Friar Anton Refa’s experiences with similar events in Rome, it was the young men and women of the Xaghra Youth Circle who created what was initially named the ‘Marathon’. The race was founded with purpose: ‘the religious, cultural, and sporting spirit are fundamental and inseparable aspects of the formation of a complete human being,’ wrote Refa in 2023. ‘Running, organizing activities like these, and working together are ways of calibrating ourselves.’ In this spirit of participation, Il-Ġirja t’Għawdex now comprises eight different events: along with the flagship half marathon there are 10K and 5K adult races, 10K and 5K Walkathons, a Family 2K run, and 2K and 900m races for children.
The race may now be an international event, but the local youth is still at its heart. Now organised as part of Run Gozo, it’s the members of the modern-day Xagħra Youth Centre who co-ordinate the event, each taking on different areas of responsibility. Run Gozo, an NGO which itself grew out of Il-Ġirja t’Għawdex, now describes its broader mission as striving ‘to promote a healthy lifestyle, create a unique experience for all the participants and celebrate all that is Gozitan.’ It kept the race going through the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, with several hundred athletes participating in virtual events in 2020 and 2021.
Il-Ġirja t’Għawdex has gone from strength to strength in the post-pandemic years, with the 2024 edition attracting more than 1,300 athletes from 50 countries. Only in 2019, when the first ever Running Expo in the Maltese islands was held at the Ggantija Temples in Xaghra, had the race attracted a greater crowd. In the same year, the Run Gozo team assisted with the San Lawrenz 5K Run in Aid of Guatemala – this was part of the Fair Play initiative, which directs funds to support crucial charitable causes in Guatemala. Run Gozo has since partnered with other charities such as Serving With Purpose, raising funds for a mission to Peru. Their dedicated Fair Play website shows that they have raised almost €40,000 since they began.
The legendary Gozo Half Marathon is not for the faint-hearted. The route is beautiful but brutal, taking in the island’s gruelling hills as well as its most astonishing sights. Beginning with a precipitous 200 metre descent across just four kilometres down from Xagħra to the coast at Marsalforn, it then follows the coast road along the north of the island. What goes up must come down—and vice versa— so runners spend the next five kilometres enduring a long, agonising climb. On an elevation chart, the first 10K of the route resembles a deep bathtub. Flattening out just a little, it then loops around the base of Ta’ Għammar, taking runners past the historic basilica of Ta’ Pinu. Now heading homewards, the route passes under the long shadow of the Cittadella and, in unrelenting Gozitan style, stretches uphill for the last three kilometres back to the beginning. Participants can feel mightily proud of themselves as they cross the finish line in front of Xagħra church.
Not just a community event, Il-Ġirja t’Għawdex means serious competition: the Half Marathon and 10K courses are certified 3-Star and 5-Star respectively by European Athletics. Charlton Debono, often Malta’s representative on the World Championship stage, is a many-time winner, and Great British international athlete Ollie Garrod was runner-up in the Half Marathon in 2018. ‘It’s a gruelling course,’ said Will Cullen, another strong British club runner, ‘but an amazing way to experience the island of Gozo.’
Entries are open for the 50th edition of Il-Ġirja t’Għawdex.
