Race Day

Race day. And what a relief. Opening the curtains early in the morning we were delighted to look out upon a relatively cold and grey scene.

Arriving at the race registration point we were quickly joined by sixty-two other athletes. This too provided great relief. It meant that we had the biggest ever field for the event but not too many for our free t-shirt supply. Of the athletes, fifty-one wanted to run the 10k race. Nine men, including ‘yours sadistically’, opted to run the 21k race. Suffice to say that none of my competitors were Caucasian. Equally madly, Mary opted to run the 21k race (one of two females).

I made a breathtaking start to the men’s race. For about 25 metres I was the clear leader. And then very shortly I was at the back. Having run the distance several times in recent weeks I felt relatively confident about my ability to cope. I had run the second half of the course several times so knew what to expect. Typically, the part I hadn’t seen was Himalayan. For the first 10.5km the race went almost entirely uphill.

Well, I completed the race. The winner finished in 1 hour 30 minutes. I finished in 1 hour 55 minutes (sixth out of nine). I managed to run the entire race except for the last hill. By the time I got over the line I had nearly lost the power of speech. I sounded like Lord Prescott at his most incoherent.

Meanwhile, my wife was battling it out against the other female runner. Behind for most of the race she overtook in the last stages and triumphed. Having just about recovered at the finish line, I was able to watch her complete the last few metres. Her time was 2 hours and 21 minutes.

After the race we held an awards ceremony and bbq. Everyone seemed to have a good time. And I got to present Mary with a newly made statuette of a giant golden female lady made out of coat hangers. (My description doesn’t do it justice; it is a terrific trophy and sits on the kitchen table.) Embarrassingly she also scooped the amazing prize of a weekend for two in a luxury hotel. (She has yet to confirm who she will be taking!)

Since the race we have both been in agony. Despite many hot baths we are still walking like clowns on stilts. Mary has the added enjoyment of badly sunburnt shoulders. But they are receiving expert treatment from her doting husband.