No problem. Just bring a cheque and a doctor's certificate tomorrow before the race and we'll sign you on. So that was settled, I was going to take part in the race, and had to get up early for the first day of the holiday, something which Laurence very much regretted.
I arrived at 8:00 am in Taninges and sized up the competition. There were about 100 people in all of whom 50 would be taking part in the run. There were a large proportion of women runners which surprised me considering the difficulty of the course and my experience of races in the Paris area. Everyone looked very fit, well equipped and I began to wonder what I had let myself in for.
Ten minutes before the start, we had our last race instructions. The running course was over 11.6 km with a total uphill of 1164m, exactly 10% average gradient over the course. All the climbing was over the first 6.5 km with the last section either flat or downhill.
The barrier was lifted and we set off. I stayed well to the rear, happy to take it easy over the initial sections, knowing what lay ahead. My plan was to keep it steady over the climb and then stretch out over the last section and to pick up as many places as I could then. The plan was very theoretical and the reality totally different. I managed the first kilometre in 7 minutes but my performance went rapidly downhill. The steepness of the course over an old paved track used by the Chartreux monks in the 16th century was too much for me. I walked a large part of this as when I ran, there was little or no effect on my speed but it was far more tiring. I spent this section battling it out with a determined runner who ran steadily up the whole section. When I ran on the less steep sections, I would catch him up and overtake him, and when I walked he would come past me again.
Photo of the race in 2005 (Thanks to Serge: http://serge.courseapied.net/billet.php?idbillet=399)
The path eased at Le Pontet and I was able to trot again. We left the trees behind now and began the last climbs to Le Belzic and then on to the Chalet du Roy. The places were virtually static for the moment with runners walking in the same section and on the flatter sections, running at similar paces. Towards the end of the uphill a runner came past me and I focussed on staying with him as he showed some reasonable speed down the hills. Together we passed around ten runners and soon the last signs were posted showing the distance to the finish: 3km, 2 km. I profitted from a slight uphill to push the pace and to drop my "pilot fish" and he never caught me after. We hit a last section of road and the 1 km sign appeared. I was pushing the pace now and running at around 15 km/h. A final flat section and I saw the arch for the finish, a last burst and I stopeed the watch: 1h27:40 for 11.6 km. An average speed of 7.9 km/h for what must be one of the most tiring runs that I've ever done.
Talk about an uphill struggle.
To cap it all I had to get back down to the start where I'd left the car. I ran for a while and then hitched. Who should stop to pick me up but the runner I'd dropped over the last kilometre !! Thanks Patrick for your help; it was great to meet you and your wife !
2 comments:
You're on holiday again? I thought you had only just come back from holiday!
That was just a week in Aurillac. We're now on holiday for 2 weeks in the Alps with Dad and Liz and Laurence's Dad. All having a good time.
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