Les Flambeaux - Montfort l'Amaury

Laurence had entered us into this race following our entry 2 years ago where we'd both enjoyed the atmosphere and the course for this race but where unfortunately I'd got lost in the middle of the circuit. This year, I was determined to do better and to finish the race. Unfortunately, Laurence pulled out of the race due to her continuing problems with tendonitis under her left foot following Toulouse marathon. I was on my own now, especially since Nick had also announced that he was going to pull out since his back problems still hadn't improved and a test run with Anne during the week confirmed that running was still impossible.

I drove Anne to the race and we arrived with plenty of time to pick up our bibs. Despite Anne's fears that due to the lousy weather there would only be about 50 runners, the hall was filled with about 10 times this number. Two races were organised for the evening, the 18km race for which we were entered and a 10km race which started 15 minutes after the first race and which used the same circuit bar a 7 km extra loop which we had to do.

The weather had settled down for the start of the race at 8:00pm and the rain had fallen to a slight drizzle with a temperature of around 13°C. It was actually fairly warm and I wondered if my T-shirt underneath my race vest was strictly necessary. Too late for this now, and we lined up at the start with about 400 other runners and we were off heading uphill into the town centre.

The start of the race was lined with flaming torches shining alongside the road that we were to take. We headed up a steep hill into the town centre and then up some steps to the ruined castle at the top of the hill. I was already feeling my legs at this point and then we headed back down some more steps out of the town and onto a road out of town into the forest. This road was also a steep uphill and I began to remember the route from a couple of years ago. Strange how you remember how hard things are only when you have to do them again! The race had settled now and the fastest runners (about 20 I imagine) had already run off into the distance and I was left with a group of 6-10 runners who were all fairly steady and we settled into a rhythm. One guy beside me was breathing like a steam kettle about to boil and the noise has was making was really unsettling. I just hoped that I could lose him to get some peace and quiet.

This wasn't to happen as when we headed into the forest and along some of the most waterlogged tracks that you could imagine, I just did my best to stay with the group (including Mr Wheezer). We hit another uphill after approximately 4km and I fell off the back of the group. There were 3 runners ahead of me now and another 2 or 3 just behind. The light from my headlamp was just enough to light up 5 metres ahead of me and up the hill I could see my path getting lighter as another runner caught me with his headlamp, far more powerful than my own.

As soon as the uphill section was over, and having managed to keep ahead of my pursuant, I could see the group of 3 about 300m ahead of me now. Surprisingly, they were not making any more ground on me and I was catching them very slowly. We left the forest now and hit a stretch of road which was slightly downhill. I increased my pace immediately and the Garmin showed that I ran this kilometre in 3:53. I was catching the group and I told myself just to keep up the effort and that it would be easier to run with them than to struggle by myself. Another kilometre further and I finally caught them and tucked in behind them to recover slightly. After a minute of running like this, and since we were still on the road, I decided to push the pace and they all followed me now. I was just wondering how long I would be able to keep this up when we left the evenness of the road and went offroad again. The first incline uphill and I was falling off the back again. I concentrated on keeping them in sight and pushing as hard as I could so as not to lose another 100m on them. The track flattened out slightly and we had finished the 7km extra loop of our race and were now catching the tailenders of the 10 km race. This was a new motivation as we overtook runners permanently now. I caught back up with my group of 3 and one of the runners suggested that we took it in turns relaying to stay with the front runner of the group.

I was back into a rhythm again now since we'd left the last of the steep uphill behind and the path through the forest was harder underfoot. The group of 4 of us were still together and we arrived at the road which I recognised from 2 years ago and told myself that there must be 3km to go at most. I took off at this point, telling myself that if I was capable of running a marathon, I had the endurance necessary to win this fight. The 3 other runners fell back now and I accelerated to just above 15km/h. I was encouraged when runners from the 10km race shouted out encouragement with one remarking "Look at this jet go!". Downhill now back into town and I knew that there was only one difficulty left, the climb back up the stairs to the ruins before the last descent to the finish line. I was determined that they wouldn't catch me now, but as I arrived at the bottom of the steps, I slipped and fell, winding myself slightly in the process.

The climb to the top was a killer and I could hear one of the runners from the group catching me, trailing me by about 10m now. I hit the top and let fly again down the steps and then down the cobbles through town. He was still trailing me and I passed the 10km runners at top speed, determined not to lose in this final 500m. A sprint to the end around the last bend and I finished in 1:23:07, about 10 seconds ahead of my rival. We congratulated each other and then the 2 others as they arrived 40 seconds later. Really satisfying to have held them all off at the end and I was pleased with my run which, I have to admit, was mentally draining after the marathon still in my legs. I suffered on the uphills and need some hill training if I want to do well in the approaching cross-country season.

Renault, Stéphane, Anne, Dominique and Pierre-Yves finished after me in this order. Anne ran really well to finish in 1:46 despite losing her shoe in a mud puddle at one point in the process. This was an 18 minute improvement on her time with Laurence 2 years ago and shows how much both have improved since then.

Good fun and shame that Nico wasn't there as I think that I would have given him a good run for his money.

Official results are here: results. I finished in 23 place in 1:23:05 and 8th veteran.

Photo at Montfort l'Amaury

Just a quick snap of me taken during the run up to the ruins in Montfort l'Amaury 2 weeks ago for "Les Flambeaux"

Don't you just love the headlamp ?!!

Montfort l'Amaury - Les flambeaux

My first race in the dark and what an experience. Laurence, Anne and I arrived at Montfort l'Amaury about an hour before the start and picked up our numbers ready for the race.We waited in the warmth of the gym before the race started and looked at the growing number of runners preparing for the event. 2 races had been organised, the first, over 18km with 400 participants, set off at 8:00 pm and the second, over 10km with 300 entries, 15 minutes later. To further complicate matters, in the 10km race there were runners and walkers.

We listened carefully to the brief and then went outside to line up at the start. The start line was at the foot of the town and the route set off up through the town to the towers. The route was lit by flaming torches and the sight of this initial climb was most spectacular.

The gun went off and I started easily. My race plan was to take it very steadily over the start of the race and not to tire myself on the climbs. I would then see how I felt and take it from there later on. The first climb was very steep and the roads through the town were slippy from the drizzle that had been falling during the afternoon. The streets were cobbled which didn't help at all. At the top we ran past the towers and then down the steps back through the town before heading out on another road that was a long drag back out of the valley.

Having taken it easy to begin with, but having managed to avoid the bottlenecks too, I now began to pick up places as we ran along the road. The road then became a muddy path and visibility even with the headlamps was poor. The sight of hundreds of headlamps bobbing along through the night was very pretty and the whole atmosphere was quite special. I settled into a comfortable pace and was still picking up places regularly, catching runners who had set off too fast and were now paying the price. The terrain was varied from flat to steep downhills followed by steep uphills, all of which took a heavy toll on the legs.

By 5 km, I reckoned I was in the top 15 places and was chasing down a small group of 4 in front of me. It was here that disaster struck. We hit a sharp incline and I pushed the pace to catch them on the hill, by the top I was just behind but then we hit a road at the top and the way wasn't clear. We asked a marshal whcih way to go and if we were on the right route for the 18 km race. She replied in a positive manner and we followed the road down the hill. It was now apparent that this wasn't the route and we had a further 50 runners who had followed us making the same mistake.

We carried on back into town and around to the track where we had begun the race. We had run over 8 km by now and it was obvious that the race was finished for us. There was some discussion as to what to do and I set off back on the 10 km loop with some other runners just as a training run. We quickly caught the walkers on the 10km loop as they had set off 15 minutes after us. I pushed the pace and left the rest of the group behind with just 1 runner following me closely. We then began to catch the tailenders of the 10 km race and the fun began. They were really enthusiastic about the obstacles, shouting "Careful mud!" or "Watch the barrier", "Hole" etc. We overtook them and I had an amazing impression of speed as we flew past on narrow paths in the middle of the night.

The rest of the run was very good, with some great paths through the forest in the middle of the night. I completed the 10 km course in 1:18:10 having completed 16.36km. There was some discussion with the organisers as to the marshal who had left his position causing us to miss the turn on the hill, but there was nothing to be done. Very frustrating but unfortunate.

Laurence and Anne finished the course in 2:02; Laurence having lost her shoe at some point in the process causing Anne to light up the mud bath while Laurence went fishing !

We'll be back next year to do the race again properly and I might have a shout at achieving a podium if I find the route around next time.

Picture of the route with the marker showing where I ran straight on instead of turning right.