October Running Fest

A report from our unstoppable Nicky!

Maybe it was bad planning or maybe because “I’m just a girl who can’t say no”, I ended up doing three half marathons and a 16k race within one month.

The first was Macclesfield half marathon.  You all know about that one.  I moved swiftly on to the Luberon half marathon on 7^th October.  I was accompanied by Cat, Kate and Malcolm.  We did the perfect pre-race training of a tour in a vineyard including plenty of wine tasting and trying local delicacies.  There was a storm the night before and we drove to Pertuis in the pouring rain.  Luckily the weather had improved by the time we started the race.  The course took us through the Valley of La Durance, crossing the vineyards and passing by the lake finishing at the Chateau of La Tour d’Aigues, quite undulating .  Our support team (Cat’s and my husband)  did a sterling job cheering us on at the top of the hill and meeting us at the end,  even managing to help a damsel in distress along the way.

1    Pierre Barbet 1:13:17               Beaujolais Runners

1F   Marquet Mallore  1:30:50               Aix Athle Provence

32   Malcolm Fowler   1:33:10

106 Nicky Mowat        1:45:29               1^st MF3

148 Kate Sutton           1:50:05                 1^st MF2

185 Cat Marshall         1:54:03                  2^nd MF2

Although he was first Wilmslow runner home Malcolm was the only one to come away empty handed.  The rest of us earned a pumpkin and quite a lot of wine!

Two weeks later and I was back in the South of France.  As I was so close it would have been rude not to do the St Tropez Classic which various members of WRC have done in the past.  My support team and I left the house at 7.00 am for a 9.30 am start seeing a beautiful sunrise on our journey along the coast.

The race was very well organised.  You can decide at the last minute whether you want to run 8k or 16k.  The route goes around the town and up to the Citadel.  A few years ago we went through the woods at the back of St Tropez , this time however we did a loop out of town along the road which was actually a little boring and uphill on the way back.  The crowds were in full force to welcome us in the Place des Lices.  My friends had spent the time eating their petit déjeuner at a café in a perfect position to watch the finishing line.  There were several children’s races which were well supported followed swiftly by the prize giving.  There was a great community atmosphere, the sun does help!

I came away with the obligatory ‘trophée’  for which luckily there was no place in my luggage and also a book on ‘Acteurs et animaux’ !

1  Zial Abdelbaki              52:56          Frejus

1F Adana Lacaverie     1:08:15

2ndMF3     Nicky Mowat      1:08:15

In Pertuis I had beaten another lady by a mere 30 seconds and this time I was pipped to the post by  another MF3 just ahead of me.

The rest of the day was spent eating and drinking and wandering around St Tropez in the sunshine, so I didn’t feel so bad about dragging my support team out of the house at dawn on a Sunday.

A week later, another half marathon this time in London along the River Thames, starting in Walton on Thames.  The course goes along the river with a loop around East Mosley and then back.  It was about 20 degrees cooler than it had been in St Tropez and unfortunately raining when we arrived at 7.30 for a rather early 8.30 start.  I was glad that I had thrown in gloves and headband which stayed on for the majority of the race.  Most of the course is along a trail next to the river.  There were plenty of puddles which some people tried to avoid at the start but most were so large you just had to run through them, resulting in very heavy sodden shoes.

 

 

 

 

 

I had paced my daughter in this race in March but this time ran for myself.  Laura managed to do a PB without my help anyway.  We didn’t hang around at the end but the results were incredibly slow in being produced online. I managed to beat my Macc time which really I should have done as it was a far flatter course.  A well organised race but pretty low key, no compèring (I’ll put your name forward Nick!).

1          1:11:36   Antrius Jaksevicius

1F        1:14:01   Stephanie Twel

1F55    1:40:22   Nicky Mowat

1:57;20   Laura Mowat

So that’s it now for me, no more half marathons this year.  However I’ve survived three half marathons and a 16k , not to mention cross country , in 5 weeks and am none the worse, so I’ll show those youngsters!

Nicky Mowat