Sunday club session

I was eager to show off my now highly tuned mountain climbing skills at the club session on Sunday and so when Michel Z proposed a circuit towards Marly forest, I was really pleased. The turnout was fairly good with Miguel, Jean-François, Simon, Philippe and a new guy Wilfried in attendance. It turned out that I'd already run once with Wilfried as he lives in Le Mesnil and we'd run to Cora with Nick a while ago.

As we ran around, I began chatting to Wilfried who's preparing for the Millau 100 km race in a couple of months. He runs at very much the same pace as me with a marathon PB of 2:53 (although slightly slower over 10 km race where he's never beaten 38 minutes). The path through the woods to Marly was very sinuous, as always with Michel as he tries to find the narrowest most overgrown sections of the wood, and we took it easily enough for the first 6km out before stopping with the group for a breather.

We'd reached the road to St Nom now and we headed back towards the top of Princess Road before cutting down diagonally to meet the road about half-way down. There was a break away group at the front led by Jean-François and Philippe so with Simon and Wilfried, we accelerated to catch them. This was already no small feat and we were now running at about 15km/h. We hit Princess Road now and ran downhill. I ran to the front with Jean-François and we ran shoulder to shoulder down the hill managing this kilometre in 3:36. I was surprised that the group stayed together at this pace and when the uphill approached, I decided to show how much I'd improved up the slopes too. I accelerated again but I just couldn't drop them and then Jean-François overtook me, followed by Wilfried and Simon. I just cracked and eased off the pace to finish the hill.


A fast pace to finish the route and we ran about 14km all up in 1:10. This was more than enough for me and I was shattered. So much for the altitude training!

Retour à la Pointe

Laurence, having picked Bertrand and me up at Ajon in the car, decided that she too was going to conquer la Pointe de Méribel by running there and back on Friday morning. The rest of the week having been filled with long hikes and cycling, Friday was the last day possible before our departure from Onnion.

Having seen Bertrand accomplish the ascent in 1:15 earlier in the week, Laurence decided that she would need slightly longer and was eager to take on the 800 metres of ascent and a total circuit of close to 15km. She prepared herself mentally and physically by having an extra large helping of breakfast and a couple of extra slices of bread and she was ready for the challenge. She kitted herself up and without further ado, she headed to the entrance hall, primed the Garmin and set off.

I'd told her that I'd give her 15 minutes start before setting off myself in pursuit and so in turn, I got ready and set off. I took it far easier on the lower slopes on the road than last time with Bertrand. I focused on trying to run every section, even the steepest parts, despite having to reduce my pace considerably to do so. This worked well and I arrived at the Rocher Blanc in just over 27 minutes, only slightly behind Monday's time but having been far more regular and a lot less tired.


I negotiated the road across the plateau now and was surprised not to see Laurence at all ahead of me. From half-way over the plateau, you're able to see the road section right up to Ajon and since I couldn't see Laurence, I wondered if she hadn't taken the route on the east side of the plateau, along the tracks. I continued along the road past the foyer on the plateau and then took the right trun up the road to Ajon, staying on the road permanently this time as opposed to Monday when I took a short-cut across the fields. It was only in the final section just before Ajon that I saw Laurence walking up the road as I plodded steadily. I overtook her just before Ajon and told her that I'd wait at the top.

I checked my watch again now. I'd been running for 49 minutes and I wondered if I could make it to the top under the hour. I kept it steady and followed the track around the hill rather than heading straight up like last time. A final effort when I saw the line of crosses and I finally reached the top in 59:52 - oooph - by the skin of my teeth ! Laurence finished 5 minutes later in 1:20 and was really pleased to have managed the achievement. We ran down the road easily together to finish back at the centre.

14.5km all up in 1:50. I felt better about my achievement this time having been more regular despite the slightly slower time for the climb up.

Pointe de Méribel

The above photo shows La Pointe de Méribel, the highest point above the plateau at Plaine Joux. This summit is 1581 metres high and, despite its relatively low height, gives an amazing view of the surrounding countryside from Lake Geneva to Mont Blanc. This was also the destination of the challenge between Bertrand and myself in our ambition to set the target for the fastest climb from Onnion to the top, 800 metres above the start.

The challenge involves running up a first section of road and then onto the path up to Plaine Joux at Rocher Blanc before heading up to Pointe de Méribel from the plateau. The old quarry at Rocher Blanc is the half-way point both in terms of difficulty and height gained but there is still more distance to be covered in crossing the plateau and the final climb to the summit. I wondered how to approach the final section with a choice of using the tracks around the east side of the plateau or carrying straight on up the road. I finally settled on the road which although it added almost an extra kilometre of distance, it provided stable footing and more regular inclines.

Bertrand and I met at 7:15am for the start of the challenge and we'd arranged to be picked up by Laurence at 8:15am at Ajon, the last hamlet below the summit, so we could get a lift back down in time for breakfast. My strategy was clear: I'd follow Bertrand up the road and path until the Rocher Blanc and then accelerate on the road section and leave him behind here to win the race to the top! We set off from the centre and as happens too often, I forgot all about my pre-race strategy and pushed a steady pace up the road with Bertrand following just behind. When we left the road and joined the steep path that cuts up the montainside, I was already too tired to run and had to walk. Bertrand had fallen behind on the road section but he caught me again now as I put my hands on my thighs and tried to push my legs to move faster as I climbed the slope.

Bertrand didn't overtake me as I feared and I saw him slip further and further behind as I ran where I was able and walked as quickly as possible when the slope became too steep. This section up to Rocher Blanc is only 3 km in distance but with almost 430 metres in height difference, the average slope is just over 15 %. I think that I ran all of the sections where the slope was less than 20% and walked the rest. I arrived at Rocher Blanc after 27 minutes and then carried along the road.

I could see Pointe de Méribel ahead of me now and I wondered if the road option was the best solution, rather than taking a short cut across the fields. There was no sign of Bertrand now, so I stuck to the road as originally planned and tried to pick up the pace along the flatter section here. As I came to the end of the flat section, the road turns left and I succumbed to temptation by running up through a field full of cows as I cut off a good 800 - 900 metre of distance if I'd followed the original plan. At the top of the field, I was no longer sure that I'd saved any time as it was impossible to run due to the steep slope and the tiredness in my legs and thighs was now intense. I put these thoughts behind me and trudged jogging up the final section of road to Ajon.

I looked at the watch as I arrived at the hamlet : 47:00. Some wild ideas had been thrown around at the holiday centre by the guides that it was possible to get to the top in 45 minutes. May well be, but not in my shoes anyway. I focused now on pushing as hard as I could to climb the last 180 metres in height to the summit. Too steep to run, I concentrated on pushing down on my legs with my hands and forcing them up the slope. Another quick check behind and Bertrand was still nowhere to be seen. I wondered if he'd taken the same route or given up somewhere en route. I saw a small car winding its way up the road below and knew that this was Laurence arriving to pick us up and take us back down to the centre. I crossed the last fence and arrived at the 14 stations of the cross which lead the path up to the summit and the statue of the Virgin Mary. I had my own cross to bear though as the garmin showed 57 minutes and I had a last effort to make. A quick jog and a last scramble up the final gulley and I was at the top in 58:12 exactly.

I sat on the summit, catching my breath and admiring the views in all directions. To the west, I could see Lake Geneva, Geneva and Lausanne and to the east, Mont Blanc was rising, snow-capped above the clouds. The Aravis summits including La Pointe Percée were all visible and closer to home Pointe de Chalune and Chavasse were also clear. It was a beautiful morning. I waved to a figure stood next to the car on the road below, figuring that it was Laurence and watched Bertrand finally appear along the road and slowly jog up first to Ajon and then up the final slope to the top too. He made it in 1:14:59 some fifteen minutes behind me and his first words were: 'James - you're a war machine!'. Made my day !!

Just under 7 km to the top using this route and just under an hour to manage this distance and almost 800 metres of ascent. I was elated to have finished in under the hour and using the 100m=1km converter equated this run to a 15km flat course. The time appeared correct in this respect. A new record for the course and should now be written down for posterity in the holiday centre's annals to be beaten in the future.

Col de Terramont

I ran on Saturday with the intention of running up col de Jambaz and then on to col de Terramont from Onnion before heading back to the holiday centre. It looked good on paper as Terramont is only a couple of kilometres from col de Jambaz and I fugured that this would make for a 22 - 23 km round run. However, like all of my best plans, I could tell as soon as I started running that this one wouldn't pan out as I'd initially planned.

My legs felt heavy from the start which was a bad thing. I ran a kilometre up the hill to Laitraz in 5:50 which was a very bad thing, and I felt absolutely bloody awful running with even slight hunger pains, which was an extremely bad thing. This was the same route that I'd run a week earlier feeling in the best shape of my life, the same route that I'd run with Alain, chatting top him all the while, talking about marathon and semi-marathon training. This was the same route that I was now traipsing around wondering when I would begin to feel better.

My old injuries were playing up: the right thigh was still aching (I must go and get this sorted out properly now); the knees were a little shaky and the calves were fatigued from hill-walking. Nevertheless, I soldiered on, determined to add some distance and some more hills to the basic training. I got to the top of col de Jambaz in 47 minutes so no great shakes but not completely useless after all as I'd been dreading. The lack of performance was more in my head than in the legs so I carried onto the next col. From Jambaz the road turns off left and winds its way easily up the left fork of the valley before gaining rapidly in steepness on arriving in Mouilles. I stopped here before making the top of the col as I was worried about getting back in time for breakfast and I was rapidly running out of energy. The watch was showing just under an hour's running and I figured I needed at least 40 - 45 minutes to get back. Breakfast ended at 9:15am and it was now 8:20am - time to turn around.

I didn't accelerate outrageously downhill but let myself get into a steady rhythm without pushing it. I was running at around 4:15 pace compared to the 4:00 pace I'd been running a week earlier over the same section. By the time I got to Mégevette, I realised that I was seriously cooked and dangerously close to running out of energy completely. I lifted off the pace over the last 3 kilometres and the last hill back to the Chavannes was a killer as I was now wasted.

I managed to get back just in time both for breakfast and before collapsing. 20.5 km all up in 1:39 or an average of 4:52. Not a  brilliant time but a real reflection of the state I was in when I finished.

Challenged Bertrand to a race up Pointe de Méribel after this so I need to improve over the weekend.

Mégevette - easy

After a couple of days in the mountains, with a night in Refuge de Folly and a day's walking spent in the snow (up to 15cm deep at 2300m), we arrived back at the centre tired but happy after a successful walk. I have to admit that it was probably one of the most worrying excursions that Laurence and I have done, where I wondered several times whether we shouldn't turn back as the path was lost under fresh snow and the cairns disguised by a thick blanket of white. some of the descents are hairy enough as it is (Pas de l'Ours; Pas de Boret) without the added complexity of the snow and the mud.

It was a relief to have a day off running on Thursday, where we went for a day walk on the plateau des Glières. Unfortunately, this was spent in the pouring rain for the best part of the day. So when Bertrand proposed an easy run for Friday, Laurence and I accepted with pleasure.

The group was composed of Bertrand, Alain, Laurence and I and we were joined by Philippe and his wife Dominique. Laurence was really pleased by this as it meant that she would be far from being the slowest member of the group.

We set off to Amoulin by the track and then crossed the bridge to Laitraz before heading up the valley to Mégevette on the east side. I accelerated up this first hill which goes up for about 1 kilometre before flattening out along the valley side. I ran back with the others and ran the rest of the route with Laurence and Alain. We ran easily and both Alain and Laurence have improved considerably since the beginning of the week, looking much easier both up and down the hills.

10 km all up in 57 minutes. Good recovery run.

Mégevette

Organised with Bertrand to go running early again this morning. We planned a 7:30am start and Laurence decided to begin the run with us as we were going to try out a new route from Onnion to Amoulin before heading up the other side of the valley to Mégevette. I didn't sleep well last night, worrying about work, and when I went down to the lobby to meet Bertrand this morning, I wasn't in best shape.

I needn't have worried as Bertrand was waiting for us, extremely upset and embarassed as he'd only realised late last night that he couldn't come as other obligations at the centre this morning took priority. Alain, our running partner from yesterday, had decided to accompany us and so the three of us set off together down the hill.

The weather was distinctly better than yesterday and we were spared the rain although we haven't yet quite reached the bright sunshine and blue sky phase. Hopefully, this will arrive soon! It was still fairly cool and very pleasant for running. We set off into Onnion before turning left up the valley along a track alongside the river. This track took us up to Amoulin and then we turned right up the east side of the valley. We ran the first kilometre in 5:23 and Laurence had a little moan about this being her marathon speed but she carried on with us nevertheless. At Amoulin we crossed the bridge and attacked a steep uphill for a kilometre before turning left at the top towards Mégevette. We left Laurence at this point as she was intending to run 10km and the planned circuit was a couple of kilometres longer. Alain and I ran together along the road to Mégevette and then continued up the valley to Chauméty before turning back along the main road.

Alain was beginning to tire here but the perspect of running 6 kilometres downhill back to Onnion cheered him up and we sped up down the long straight back into Mégevette. About half way down this straight, he complained of a tightening in his thigh and told me to push on while he eased off the pace. I let fly at this point and enjoyed the gentle slope down and used this to speed up to 15km/h, running these last few kilometres at 4:00 / km pace.

13.6km all up in 1:05 or an average of 4:50 per km. Very pleasant run where I didn't notice the time pass as I chatted to Alain most of the way around. A couple of days rest now as we're heading up into the mountains this afternoon to spend a night in a refuge before climbing Bellegarde tomorrow.

Mégevette from the east side of the valley. Our path up the valley is hidden at the foot of the photo.

Our destination this afternoon and bed for the evening.

Plaine Joux plateau

There's a guy here at the holiday club in charge of the adult's activities called Bertrand. He runs regularly and proposed to all of the holiday-makers to go training together. Laurence and I committed to going this morning with him along with a few others. The only problem was that it was a 7:15 am start. It's bad enough getting up early in the morning to go for a run when I'm working, but to get up at this time on holiday is nightmarish.

We stood waiting for the others at the allotted time and Laurence was devastated when she found out that the weaker runners had all decided to have a lie-in and that we'd be accompanied by Alain and Bertrand only. A quick exchange of marathon times and general level of fitness only further deepened Laurence's sense of gloom and foreboding. I promised that I would run with her.

We set off on the plateau above Onnion and Laurence's fears were quickly confirmed. Not only did Bertrand like running, he liked trail running and as soon as he could, he left the road and headed off across the fields. We all followed. After running up a little slope in muddy conditions, Bertrand found an even steeper, muddier slope with large ruts, cowpats and electric fences. Bertrand was in his element. Laurence was sulking and even walked up some slopes, visibly disappointed with the lack of tarmac.

After 3 kilometres of mud and rain, the route flattened slightly. Oh yes, I forgot to mention the rain. Despite the improvement promised in yesterday's weather forecast, it began to rain as soon as we started to run. It began lightly and then settled into a steady, heavy drizzle. The path flattened and we headed around the hill to a farm before finding a stretch of tarmac and a long descent down the road back to the plateau. Laurence's face brightened and she ran alongside Alain, chatting happily. She carried on chatting despite the acceleration to 4:27 per km and then 4:30 per km for the next 2 kilometres. Unfortunately the downhill section ended here and we ran back up a steep hill where I pushed the pace just to see if Bertrand could follow. He was just behind me as we were still on the road, as soon as we left the tarmac, he would leave me up the hills easily.

We followed a little path and ran back to the road to finish. A little acceleration at the end to get back to the car and we ended our first accompanied run. The plan is to run the same route at the end of the week starting from the holiday centre. This will add another 10 kilometres with an extra 300 metres of uphill. Hopefully, it will be drier next time.

9 km all up in 53:00 so not fast but the conditions and the route were far from ideal.

Plaine Joux in the sunshine with a clear blue sky. Didn't even see the top of La Pointe today as it was covered in cloud.

Col de Jambaz

This course from Onnion up the slope into Megevette and then past the church and up the east side of the valley now figures as one of my classic routes from our holiday club. It's just over 18 km all of the way around and my record is just under 1:20 which I (almost) recorded last year but the Garmin had no battery left and so it's an unofficial record.

I set out this morning in the pouring rain. Laurence and I set off together to the astonishment of everybody else present at the club when we left. The rain was chucking it down and it took all over 90 seconds for the rain to seep through my waterproof (sic) running top and to soak me to the skin. A quick stop to sort out Laurence's garmin and then I was off, not willing to hang about and just eager to get back to the warmth and shelter of our lodgings.

The first section up to Megevette is steady uphill and the garmin was showing between 4:30 and 4:40 per km so I was pleased with my progress. I hadn't been running since Thursday when I ran 20km with Laurence and a friend so I was well relaxed and had plenty of energy. I cut down right after the church in Megevette and then ran the flattest section but through a muddy field before rejoining the main road and running the last 3km uphill to the col. I looked at the watch at the top: 45 minutes to run 9 km so 35 minutes to run back the same distance.

I let myself go down the hill and saw a couple of splits of around 3:53 before choosing to ignore the watch and to just enjoy the pace at my own rhythm. I was coming back down the long straight into Megevette when I saw Laurence ahead and realised that she was not running the 12km that she'd said she'd run. I passed her at speed and waved as I went by. It was still chucking it down and I thought about running with her before deciding rapidly to push on in order to try and beat the record and get back to the dry as quickly as possible.

The easiest section was now after Megevette where the road goes downhill again with a good slope. I ran 3:50 here and fished with the little uphill back into the centre. 1:19 to complete the course so I'd made it down in 34 minutes for the last 9km. My kit was completely drenched from the shoes, to the shorts, to the jacket and cap. Felt very good with the run, where I wasn't out of breath or struggling at any moment.

18 km all up in 1:19:42 or an average of 4:25 per km. Laurence ran her 15 km in 1:26 so slightly slower than last year but without forcing either.

Relaxing

I've been very negligent on the blog writing front this last couple of weeks and it is time to make amends. Plenty of excuses spring to mind revolving around work commitments, lack of time, lack of sleep etc. but since you wouldn't believe any of them (quite rightly) then I'm just going to get on and let you know what's been happening.

Since I wrote my last entry, I've been running the usual early morning sessions and also making it to the club once a week. The summer has arrived but the temperatures are globally cooler than those we had in April and May.This makes the early morning runs extremely pleasant and if I didn't have to go to work straight afterwards in a real rush then they would be very enjoyable. At the moment, I'm averaging around 4:20 pace on these 10 - 12 km runs and then combining this with the club sessions.

I had one of the best ever club sessions 2 weeks ago when we headed down towards Achères at 'Le Mouchoir'. This is a 2.5 km circuit in the forest with a little bit of everything: narrow twisty paths, some gentle downhill, some uphill sections and tree roots thrown in all over to make the going tricky. Miguel had organised a pyramid session of 4',8',12',8' then 4' to finish at 10km pace.I was fairly tired after Guerlédan and Achères races and so I thought I'd just take it easy. Jennifer was there and wanted some coaching in preparation for her 10km european track event and Miguel wanted Thierry and himself to push her around. Since Miguel is lacking a little endurance at the moment he fell off the back on the 12' interval and I carried on managing to stay ahead of Jennifer on this interval before trailing her on the next two. Still pleased as punch to have been able to keep up with Thierry and Jennifer which was more than could be said of Miguel and Gérald ... I also did this session having run over to the club from home and so managed to run 25 km overall.

Some more mid-week runs before last Sunday when I convinced Nico to get out of bed early (8:30am being considered as the crack of sparrows by Nico on a Sunday) and a 6 x 3' interval session off 90 seconds recovery. I pushed this one fairly hard too but I'm still lacking sufficient pace to be able to play at the front with the big boys (Nico, Thierry, etc.). Good work-out on a quiet Sunday run during the holidays though.

The last memorable run was last Tuesday for the club but unfortunately for all of the wrong reasons. I'd pulled an old pair of running shorts, cyclist style, from my drawer to wear and arrived in time to pull on my kit and to go outside to talk to the others before setting off. A long moment of embarassment when Laurence pointed out that my right testicle was hanging out of the hole in my shorts that I'd never bothered to mend. I wondered how many others had seen this and politely chosen not to comment. Needless to say that these shorts have now been binned.

The aim now is to enjoy the holidays in the Alps and get some altitude training in. Relaxing during the holidays will improve my motivation and the proper sleep will enable me to eliminate my sleep debt and finally get fit and refreshed.

Easy Saturday

I decided to run with Laurence this morning and we headed out to the car park at the edge of town where she had arranged to meet a couple of her friends. We waited for a few minutes before the friends arrived. We had decided that in the eventuality of them not turning up, then we would run together towards Cora and back. This plan B was aborted when they both turned up and I now had the choice of running off on my own or taking the softer option and running with them all. I chose the soft option.

We ran down the classic route towards Cora and cut back just before the lake, cutting off 2 km from the normal route and making it a 10 km run from the car park. I had done exactly as I had been told to do and thus earned several wife credits in the process. These are not easy to win, so I was very satisfied with my day and the easy run that I'd enjoyed.

After several weeks now of training, long races and hard work during the week, it's nice to be able to ease off over the summer and relax more during the runs. Training hard is all very well when there is a clearly defined objective but to push it permanently just deadens the motivation and the pleasure of going out. I'm now on the road to recovery...

13km all up in 1:08. Very pleasant.

Early morning Thursday

I've been taking it easier now that all the major races are finished before the summer holidays and in my head I'm already winding down before the vacation. I don't want to lose all of my mileage though and I'm making a conscious effort to keep up the running if only to manage about 60 km per week before beginning some serious marathon training come September. I went out for my early morning run just to take it easy and to enjoy the morning tranquility before heading into work.

I felt good when I beagn to run and I managed to run the 1st kilometre in a little over 4:30. Encouraged by my pace and the feelings as I ran along by the river, I gradually built up speed over the course finishing in 3:50 over the last kilometre.

I was happy to feel so good running again after the effort necessary on Sunday to run in the sun.

11 km all up in 47:50 or an average of 4:21 per km.

Tuesday club session

I managed to get to the club session on Tuesday night in the nick of time after wondering whether I'd be able to get out of Paris in a reasonable time. Luckily the traffic wasn't too dense and a blast down the A14 westwards out of Paris ensured that I made it with 3 minutes to spare. I got changed and listened to the pre-session team talk where Miguel explained that the summer was here and that an easy session followed by some stretching would do us all some good.

I warmed up with Nico and Gérald. Warming up being the generic term since the weather was still as hot as last Sunday and the temperature was still hovering around 30°C. Nico was all for following Miguel and taking it easy. Gérald was undecided and I wanted to take it easy without doing the stretching and sit-ups. At this point, I was still wondering what to do when I latched on to a small group with José, Simon and Laurent and ended up running their session with them. This involved an 8' interval followed by a 6' interval and then a 4' interval off 2'30" recovery. It wasn't exactly what I'd been planning to do but what the heck.

I let José go off at his pace on the first interval and ran with Simon and Laurent before upping the pace and trying to close José down. I was surprised to see a kilometre flash up in 3:44 on the Garmin and afterwards I saw that I pretty much maintained this pace over all of the intervals, slowing only slightly on the uphill sections around the salamander loop in the forest. Simon stayed with me for the first interval before droppping back in the second and third where I ran on my own keeping José within my vision.

A jog back to the club where I watched Gérald, Laurence and Nico stretching and taking it easy.

10.7 km all up in 1:00.

Marathon relais - Val de Marne

It's a week later and I've only just got around to writing up my account of the marathon relay that we entered last Sunday with Nico, his brother Benjamin and an old friend of theirs, Greg. I'd been scrutanising the weather forecast for a few days as the mild weather was due to end to be replaced by a very hot, sunny spell with the peak temperatures to be recorded on the Sunday. The weathermen weren't wrong.

I picked Nico up and we left in the car at just after 7:00 am. The thermometer was already hovering around 20°C and a clear blue sky and hot sun promised worse to come. By the time we arrived and the race was due to begin the temperature was in the low 20°C and heating up rapidly. Nico lined up to run the first leg involving 3 laps of the circuit around the lake, with each lap a little over 4km, this gave a first leg of 12.5km in total. Nico set off prudently, in the first 30 runners in a field of just over 300. By the end of the first lap, he was in 27th place and I calculated an average speed of around 3:45 per km for him. He looked easy and in control of the situation.

A lap later and it was a different story entirely. He'd moved up the field and was now around 20th in a small pack, but was clearly suffering from the heat, looking less controlled and not so easy in his stride. His average lap time had slowed too with a 7 - 8 second per km drop over the first lap. Despite the sunshine, he managed to maintain his speed well, finishing his relay in 15th place before handing over to Greg.

The next 2 legs were run by Greg then Benjamin and both had 2 laps to do before passing the relay. The story was the same each time with them looking fresh on the first lap and then fading in the second. I ran a warm-up lap just to see what the course was like and realised that after an easy start which was mostly in the shade, you rounded the end of the lake and then had to run over 1.5km beside the lake in full sunshine. The far end was slightly shaded but this didn't last long before the path wound its way through a little park and back to the start.

I wented in the sun for Benjamin to come in and watched the other relay teams hand over just ahead of me. Most were on the 2nd to 3rd man changeover with only a few teams on the last leg. Benj came in and handed over to me and I set off prudently too, not wanting to burn myself out after a couple of kilometres. It was 11:00 am now and the temperature was in the high 20°C and probably a full 10°C higher in the sun. I focused on a runner who set off 15 seconds before me and watched as I closed in on him, finally catching him after 2.5km into my leg. I voertook him and then heard him running just behind me as I finished the first leg. I ran the first km in 3:43 and then 3:51 before running the next two in 3:54 and 3:55. I could feel my energy ebbing and the sun sapping all the motivation from me. When he came back past me, I was unable to respond.

The second lap was a nightmare and I just wanted to finish to run the last lap with the others at a more comfortable pace. The back straight with no shade was a killer and my splits dropped below 4:00 per km without me being able to do anything about it. I'd lost interest in the fight and just wanted to get the ordeal over with. I fought to run reasonably to the end of the second lap and into the finishing chute for the last relay.

We then set off as a team of 4 and the pace slowed again. I thought that I would be able to relax and that the pace of the weaker runner in our team would be a relief. I was too tired though for this to be the case and even running a couple of kilometres at 4:30 pace was an ordeal. I even wanted to stop and drink at the feeding station, I was so uncomfortable with the heat. We managed to finish at a slightly faster pace, especially when we realised that we'd been overtaken by another team who was running just slightly faster than us. Despite our efforts, we were unable to catch them and ended the race in 15th place in a total time of 2:49.

There was a great atmosphere for the event and I really enjoyed this, despite the heat. Post-race festivities were excellent too with a barbecue at Benj's house washed down with a few beers and a swim in his pool. Probably the best part of the day!