Andrésy 13.5km

It was a last minute decision to take part in this race. It's Katia's home territory and she convinced Laurence to take part, so I decided to come along for the ride. It's been 4 years since I raced here in the race  in Andrésy and I thought that with my recent form that I could finish in around 50 minutes and with a bit of luck even go under this time. I'd also noticed that Olivier from the club had entered  and that I could give him a run for his money. Since he's a member of the club elite, this could be a little "feather in my cap" and an added bonus.

It was a perfect day for running with the temperature hovering around the 11°C and only a little wind to make the going hard on some stretches. The whole town had been cordonned off for the race and Laurence and I jogged a couple of kilometres to the start line to register and pick up our bibs. Due to our late decision to enter, I was runnning under another vet's name from our club and when I explained this to the organiser, they couldn't be bothered to make the changes and asked if I minded. Since the distance wasn't officially recognised and I knew the club would make the changes on their website, I let this go.

A quick warm-up with Katia, her nephew and Laurence and we lined up for the start. I stood next to Olivier and told him my plan to stick with him throughout the race. He said I should try and beat him instead! That was enough to spur me on. When we set off, I sat on his shoulder and felt comfortable with the pace. So comfortable that I upped the ante immediately and overtook him after 500m, taking off after the front runners. I was in 7th position here and the 2 leaders had made a large gap immediately and there was a group of 4 just ahead. The garmin beeped for the first kilometre, showing 3:28 which I felt happy with. I wasn't going to explode at this pace and I knew that we'd soon settle down.

The race was over 2 loops with a first loop of 6km and then a longer loop of 7.5km which takes in a steep hill which I remembered from last time. I ran that first loop which is practivally flat at a steady pace watching the group ahead as one guy pulled up and stopped while the 3 runners he had been with carried on and now had a 15 metre lead on me. I contemplated moving up a notch just to protect myself from the headwind but the effort necessary was just too much for me to muster. I finished the first loop with the following splits:

3:27, 3:30, 3:38, 3:40, 3:38, 3:37

I kept thinking about Olivier and wondering how far behind me he was. I dared not look in case that this should spur him on and I just watched as a runner from Andrésy dropped back off the group ahead and I wondered if I could catch him. The hill came: a 300m long wall at 16% gradient. I'm not a good hill runner so it was a surprise when the gap between me and the runner ahead shortened to 5 metres by the time we got to the top. He accelerated away though at the bend at the top and I paced it a little easier as I figured that there was still 5 km to go to the end. I chased him the rest of the way and I really thought that I could catch him as I closed down the last hill before the final straight with the wind in our backs. He knew I was there though and as we slalomed between the other back enders doing the 5.8km race, he pushed the pace just sufficiently to discourage me from making a move. I think that had he been a veteran himself, I would have sprinted to try and beat him to the tape. The motivation wasn't there though and he crossed the line 5 seconds before me while I managed a 49:26 and 6th place from scratch. I was second veteran and waited 50 seconds for Olivier to cross the line a place behind me and 3rd veteran. What elation!

3:39, 3:42, 4:25 (with the hill), 3:49, 3:43, 3:35, 3:33 and 3:31 pace to finish.

I ran back along the course now to encourage Katia and Laurence. Katia was first woman and Laurence was a couple of minutes behind in 3rd place for the women. I could see that she'd given everything and I ran into the finish with her, chuffed to bits. 1h00 for Katia and 1h02 for Laurence in 1st and 2nd place as vet women and 1st and 3rd place for overall women. What a great result.

Photos of the podium. Too bad that my moment of glory was spoilt slightly by being called Philippe!











A quick warm down and 21.5km for the day.