4/10 Toledo

Time: 8:00

Temperature: 18 degrees

10k Duration: 1:02:00

El Corpus Christi

I have just spent the last 3 days living in a real life fairy tale town...

I didn't know what to expect when I was on my way to Toledo because no one had ever mentioned the town to me before and I mainly chose it as a stop off point on my way to Madrid. Let's just say I didn't have any expectations. I now know that in Spain you can always have high expectations for anywhere you visit because it will never ever disappoint. I spent the entire time in disbelief that this wasn't a set from a Disney movie and even days after having left I am still in awe at how incredible that hidden gem of a city is... maybe it was all a dream!

Once again I got lucky, coincidentally tying in my stay with the celebrations of Corpus Christi, an internationally recognised festival.  This was the reason the town was decked head to toe with medieval, colourful, floral decorations and one particular route covered with canopies ready for the procession.

I was also lucky enough to have the most amazing air b&b host, Francisco, who told me everything I needed to know about the town, suggested the most spectacular running route, the most delicious ice cream parlour (Jacinta & Maria Chocolates) and even invited me to spend the day with him and his friends to watch the parade.

I had the most amazing view of the procession thanks to the prime position on a balcony (mil gracias a Francisco) and the rest of the day was full of tapas and trying local specialities like Carcamusas. I have never seen anything like the parade, there were military members marching, bands playing music, local towns residents in various outfits and traditional dress and after two hours the pinnacle everyone was waiting for; El corpus Christi, the biggest 'jewel' I have ever seen, made out of pure gold. I have Francisco to thank for his generosity, for allowing me to see Toledo through the eyes of a local and for making my stay that little more special. 

Running views...

So not only had I been blown away by what was inside the walls of this ancient city set on the hill, I took a route which allowed me to get a panoramic view from the outside. It has to have been the most breath-taking run I have done to date. Thats not to say it was easy, getting up the hill was hard work (hence the very slow time), but it was SO worth it.