After
some reluctance Elaine & family, managed to find a local race close whilst
on hols this year. and was billed as a 9.5K run along sea front in the Loire,
called the 'Ronde des
Douaniers'.
At
the start became apparent the race would not be circular after all, in fact
just out & no back. Elaine initially didn't seem phased by this when this
came to notice 10 minutes from start & was just told route hugs coast line
& you should see the finish 9 or so K's along the front by organiser.
Expecting to be somewhere under the hour & closer 50 mins given terrain,
Elaine wished me luck & said to see me in an hour with children at the
finish!
As
it happened the route took us along the front on trails for some way &
interspersed sections on the beach, which were leg sapping, chariots of fire
not.
Found
the route a tad tough given I'd really enjoyed the holiday up to now with very
little quality running or strength work, however chose to dig in give & it
a go. Competition seemed to be a fair mix with folk out front quickly
showing quality.
Finish
popped up at the last minute & managed a final sprint across sand to the
finish, beginning to feel some of the heat of the day by now.
Nice
welcome at finish with bottled water & technical T.
As
it happened, route did follow the front, however road access didn't quite do
the same, none the less Elaine & children did a gallant job tracking me
down and perhaps after an hour & a half were more glad just to find me than
actually pleased with result?
1 Julien Moreau 36:29
48 Rob Gilbert 44:43
49 Virginie Schumacher 44:45
Rob Gilbert