Il-Pink Panther

Kienet sena tajba, zgur ahjar minn ta' qabilha. Kemm kemm ma nghidx kienet sena eccellenti, u ili ma niftakarni nasal ghal konkluzjoni simili fl-ahhar tas-sena.

Fost l-achievements li jiguni f'mohhi nahseb awtomatikament fiz-zewg maratoni li grejt - fil-fatt din l-ewwel darba meta qatt grejt zewg maratoni fl-istess sena. Achievement iehor it-tellieqa ta' nofs maratona f'nhar Santa Marija fl-eqqel ta' waranofsinhar ta' gurnata shuna - orrajt fil-Belgjum, imma 29 grad fid-dell, u l-girja fix-xemx, mhux xi haga tac-cajt. Imma l-aktar haga importanti, u dan m'ghandux x'jaqsam ma' giri, hi li spiccajt is-sena hafna ahjar minn kif bdejtha.

Ghadda wkoll decennju, li wkoll beda fuq sieq hazina imma spicca tajjeb. Ghaxar snin zmien twil, u jigru tant affarijiet... L-aktar zewg affarijiet importanti li grawli bla dubju ta' xejn huma l-fatt li tlaqt minn Malta biex immur nahdem il-Belgjum, u l-ohra li twieled Gianluca. Iz-zewg grajjiet bidluli hajti, anzi ahjar bidlulna hajjitna, tista' tghid ghal kollox. Ghall-ahjar? Araha gejja l-cliche: kollox ghandu t-tajjeb u l-hazin tieghu. Imma l-fatt li ninsab kuntent nahseb indikazzjoni tajba, le?

U bhala konkluzjoni tas-snin xejn xejn, u introduzzjoni ghas-snin tal-ax (invenzjoni tieghi, -ax, bhal hdax, tnax, eccetra) ghandi dawn il-mistoqsijiet li gejjin, li ta' min wiehed jieqaf u jirrifletti wahda tajba dwarhom.

Imma qabel tajjeb li nirrimarka li fil-fatt id-decennju ghad fadallu sena ohra biex jispicca, l-istess bhal ma l-millennju beda fl-1 ta' Jannar 2001, u mhux fl-2000. L-ewwel decennju beda fl-1 ta' Jannar 0001, it-tieni beda ezatt 10 snin wara, fl-1 ta' Jannar 0011, eccetra, eccetra.

Insomma, illum iddecidejt inkompli mal-massa, u ghalhekk, ara gejjin il-mistoqsijiet ghad-decennju bis-snin li jibdew bin-numru 1:

1. Proprjament, x'inhu ezattament l-iskop ta' dil-kedda kollha?
2. X'l-ahjar, tirbah ghaxar ewri bil-pools, jew taqla' xebgha, u ghaliex?
3. Kemm hi kbira l-Gimgha l-Kbira?
4. X'jghidulu?

U, fl-opinjoni tieghi, l-aktar wahda difficli:

5. Ghaliex kulhadd jassumi li l-Pink Panther hija maskili?

Is-sena t-tajba lil kulhadd. Nispera fi zmien sena ohra nkun ghadni hawn biex nixtieq lil kulhadd id-decennju l-gdid it-tajjeb.

Cheers - imma ssuqux jekk tixorbu

Il-gallarija se tbexxaq waħda l-purtelli għal ftit ġranet. Issa wasal il-ħin li nifirħu ftit mal-familja u l-ħbieb, u nerġgħu niffamiljarizzaw ruħna mal-art ħelwa li tatna isimha. Avolja, qatt ma stajt nifimha sew din l-espressjoni, imma insomma. Wara ħames xhur terġa' tiġi x-xewqa li nara l-baħar blu, induq xi pastizzi, min jaf forsi xi fenek għand Charlie l-Barri jew Rita tal-qtates. Għaxart ijiem ftit wisq ħija... Niġri xi ġirja ma' ħbiebi tas-Saint Patrick's. Nispera ma ddejjaqnix ħafna r-riħa tad-diżil li hemm ma' kullimkien...

Sadattant:

Joyeux Noel (b'xi aċċent jew tikek 'l hawn u 'l hemm li dal-keyboard mhux issettjat għalihom)

Buon Natale

Merry Christmas

Jew, kif ngħidu bil-Malti: ĦEPIKRISSMISS.

Global warming?

Surely, they couldn't have chosen a worse setting than Copenhagen in December to impress world leaders that something needs to be done about global warming. This morning in Belgium we woke up to a 'blistering' minus 10 degrees C, and I don't think it's much warmer at all in Copenhagen...

How about Athens in August? Now that would have highlighted the problem much better.

And why everyone or no one? If the US, China, Europe and the rest of the industrialised nations reach an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, why forsake the agreement just because a few banana republics refuse to join the agreement? It's the industrialised nations that are causing the vast bulk of greenhouse gas emissions, anyway. We should just forge ahead and move over to renewable energy technologies. The banana republics are bound to follow suit, eventually, as happens in all spheres where technology is concerned.

They want to "limit" the average global temperature rise to 2 degrees C. Now I wonder how we can avoid going beyond this point. It's almost like saying that I'll be taking measures so that tomorrow it won't rain (or snow as things stand at the moment). It's simply an impossible target, since it's beyond our control.

Our target should be much clearer and simpler, and is basically this: to stop burning fossil fuels and restore the world's forests.

Un portiere al posto di una primadonna

Gianluigi Buffon si è operato al menisco e tornerà in campo a fine gennaio. Vuol dire che per qualche partita, giusto per sei settimane meno la pausa natalizia, ci sarà un portiere invece di una primadonna a difendere la porta della Juve. Magari Alex Manninger effettuerà pure delle parate sui tiri degli avversari, invece di prendere un gol per ogni tiro...

Iva, naħseb

Barra minn Malta xi nisa jfittxu l-pubbliċità għalihom infushom billi jippużaw bla ħwejjeġ għal xi rivista jew kalendarju. F'Malta issa għandna lil Ira Losco li biex takkwista ftit pubbliċità QALET li probabbli tkun lesta taċċetta tippoża bla ħwejjeġ.

U jien ċert li s'hemm biss se tasal. Kif kien qal xi Malti, mill-kliem għall-fatti hemm baħar jikkumbatti. Ma qalitx Ira, pereżempju, x'ikunu ċ-ċirkostanzi biex probabbli tippoża bla ħwejjeġ. Ngħidu aħna, kif hemm min jagħmel, tippoża għal xi pittur? Ħeqq, kif kitbuhielna t-Times, tista' anki tfisser li tippoża waħidha quddiem il-mera: "Singer Ira Losco answers some quick questions by Christian Peregin and says she would probably be willing to pose naked because she is “not holier than thou”."

Ma impressjonajtniex Ira ħi. Dal-aħħar saret moda kulħadd għat-taparsi jippoża ta' li hu xi qaddis. Issa Ira qed tippużalna ta' li mhix xi qaddisa. Nemmnuhom? Mela, ejja nkantaw flimkien, a one, a two, a one two three: Parole, parole, parole...

Da x'ikun?

Da x'ikun? U għax ma jqaxxarx il-leħja kif qallu Chiellini? Suppost kellu jkun l-istilla, il-ponta tad-djamant ta' formazzjoni tlellex tal-Juventus, irrinfurzata bl-aqwa kampanja akkwisti wara tar-Real Madrid, bla bla bla bla bla. Kieku lgħabt jien ma stajtx nilgħab agħar milli lagħab Diego l-bieraħ fid-disfatta kontra l-Bayern.

U x'ma naqalgħux damdima... bla ideat, bla ħeġġa. Lanqas fi friendly ma tistennihom ikunu daqshekk illuppjati, aħseb u wara f'logħba deċiżiva taċ-Champions League, home, kontra l-Bayern Munich.

U Del Piero, nofs tunnellata toqol kapaċi biss jaqa' jew jiffawlja, bil-kemm jiflaħ jimxi... tużah mill-ewwel minuta fl-aktar logħba importanti tas-sena?

U Amauri għax ma jinteressax ruħu aktar fil-logħob milli f'xagħru?

U Giovinco kif tippretendih jagħmel il-mirakli fl-aħħar 10 minuti tal-logħba? Jekk m'għandhomx fiduċja fih għax ma jbigħuhx milli jħalluh irabbi l-għanqbut fuq il-pankina?

M'hemmx reġista a la Pirlo li jiddetta l-logħob. M'hemmx fiżjonomija ċara ta' logħob. M'hemmx karattru. M'hemm xejn... Nikkonsla li hekk jew hekk it-timijiet kollha se jinqalgħu miċ-Champions League eventwalment. U iva, barra wieħed, u sakemm dak il-wieħed ma jkunx l-Inter ma jimpurtax.

Il-kanna li se jkollna nieħdu sehem fil-Coppa UEFA. Dik oħra tal-għaġeb. L-unika kompetizzjoni fid-dinja li tikkwalifika għaliha billi titlef. Aħjar ġejna l-aħħar fil-grupp, xejn xejn konna nikkonċentraw fuq il-league biss.

Kos, qed ngħid... F'dar-ritratt Diego qisu Joseph Muscat kieku jixxrinkja u jitħajjar jilbes parrokka hu? Ħeħeħe ;-)

L-aħħar tgergira u ndabbar rasi. Iva mamma mija Buffon mank għallinqas jipprova jilqgħu penalty?

Lanqas għal nofs ta' nhar ma jgħaddu bla karozza

F'Malta kien hemm min gerger il-Ħadd li għadda, għax il-mimmi ta' għajnejhom il-karozza ma setgħux isuquha fejn iridu.

Issa dawn kienu jafu li ħafna mit-toroq prinċipali kienu se jkunu magħluqa biex eluf ta' Maltin ikunu jistgħu jiġru mal-President minn San Anton sal-Belt. Ilna ġimgħat sħaħ nisimgħu fuq dil-ġirja li qed tiġi organizzata. X'għamlu? Ħallew il-karozza d-dar u marru jiġru huma wkoll? Użaw tal-linja? Le, ma tarax! Ħarġu bil-karozza xorta. Imbagħad gergru għax sabu t-traffiku ġġamjat!

Iva m'għandhomx ħila, għal nofs ta' nhar wieħed biss, jgħaddu mingħajr il-karozza? Għax ma qalgħux dak il-warrani l'għandhom minn fuq is-seat u qamu jiċċaqalqu naqra? Imorru xi passiġġata fil-kampanja jew ħdejn il-baħar. Kull sekonda rridu bilfors insuqu mamma mia...

New York hi belt importanti? Jew Londra? Naħseb hu? Safrattant f'dawn il-bliet u f'bosta oħrajn madwar id-dinja t-toroq jingħalqu għal kollox għat-traffiku darba kull sena, għal ġurnata sħiħa, meta ssir il-maratona. Ħadd ma jgerger, anzi eluf oħra joħorġu fuq il-bankini jċapċpu lill-atleti waqt li qed jiġru.

Jalla fl-edizzjoni tas-sena d-dieħla l-eluf jiżdiedu. Min jaf, forsi jingħaqdu fil-festa dawk li l-bieraħ weħlu bil-karozza. Merħba bihom fil-każ. Niġbru aktar għall-karità, u l-festa tkun akbar!

Grazzi, Sur President!

Sa fl-aħħar! Ġrat xi ħaġa li ġġagħlni ngħid bla tlaqliq li jien kburi li jien Malti.

Sitt elef Malti u Maltija llum ingħaqdu mal-President George Abela f'ġirja minn San Anton sal-Palazz fi Pjazza San Ġorġ, il-Belt.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091206/local/thousands-turn-up-for-presidents-charity-run

B'dan l-avveniment, il-President u l-organizzaturi laħqu 3 miri verament sbieħ:

1. Ġabru kemmxa flus tajba għall-karità.
2. Taw spinta lill-valur u l-popolarità tal-isport u l-attività fiżika fost il-Maltin.
3. Ħolqu okkażjoni fejn il-Maltin tassew ħassejna ruħna magħqudin bħala poplu.

Kemm jiddispjaċini li ma stajtx inkun magħhom.

Mill-gallarija

Hawn huma l-ispirazzjoni tiegħi. Statler u Waldorf tal-Muppet Show. Meta fl-aħħar kont sibt isem għal dal-blogg, Mill-gallarija, ma kellix idea li l-istess żewġ karattri kellhom programm li kien jismu eżatt, appuntu... From the Balcony!

Xogħli hawnhekk infatti bħal ta' dawn hu. Avolja, lanqas nibda ħdejhom fil-kummenti li jgħaddu. Huma tnejn - jien issa wieħed. Sieħbi kien baqa' jgħaddi l-kummenti tiegħu f'Malta. X'għandna Joseph?! Ħeħe :-)

San Pupulju

Illum skoprejt min huma ż-żewġ qarrejja li ġieli nirreferi għalihom fil-kitbiet tiegħi fuq dal-blogg, imma li ma kontx naf min fil-fatt kienu.

Issa naf. Liż-żewġ Juventini DOC, li ġieli niltaqa' magħhom wara l-knisja ta' San Pupulju għall-mass meetings ta' Fuq il-Fosos, insellmilhom minn hawnhekk!

Fatti un favore Alex, smetti!

Caro Alex Del Piero

Sei stato uno dei più grandi giocatori di tutta la storia della Juve. Anzi, l'hai fatta tu una buona fetta della storia della Juve. Vorremmo, quando avrai smesso di giocare, che di te ricorderemo i bei gesti, i grandi gol, la fantasia. Il gol in semifinale contro la Germania. Il gol su punizione contro l'Inter a San Siro. Gli straordinari gol 'à la Del Piero' in Champions League.

Tutto, tranne la penosa figura di un giocatore pesante, falloso, ininfluente, sfinito, che vuol giocare per forza al posto di gente più giovane e più in forma.

E allora fatti un favore e uno a tutto il popolo bianconero. Smetti, perchè la Juve ha bisogno di undici e non dieci giocatori in campo. Smetti, perchè rischi di rovinare la bella immagine che ti sei guadagnato in tutti questi anni di gloriosa carriera.

Magari mi smentirai ancora, con altre grandi prestazioni che ci porteranno a importanti traguardi. Ma francamente... e per carità non dire più che vuoi giocare il mondiale in Sud Africa!

CXL.6 Sterrebeek - 15.4km - 1h12:44

After the Brussels marathon of 5 October I thought there would be a long, bleak winter period without any competitive activity.

I was wrong.

Today I took part in a very interesting event - the Sterrebeek 15.4km. On 20 December I hope to take part in a 10k starting and finishing beneath the Atomium - the most internationally recognisable icon in Belgium. Later in early February I should do what's now becoming a regular feature of my winter running - Les Hivernales de Boitsfort (20k). All the while I'll be building up for my next marathon, which, unforeseen circumstances permitting, should be the Maasmarathon in Vise/Maastricht/Vise in early May. I'm certainly looking forward to that!

As I said, Sterrebeek was indeed very interesting. There's not much to be said about the town itself. It's pretty much a run-of-the-mill Flemish residential town. It was a gusty Sunday morning, not too cold and much against the recent trend mainly sunny, but very windy. A few turnings around street corners after the start, and then we hit the countryside.

The race consisted mainly of long, straight paths running through open agricultural land, very picturesque, the route forming two large rectangles so that the wind was on occasion a head wind while on others it blew sideways or from behind. It was quite strong most of the time, and late in the second loop I was almost running on the spot against close to a gale force wind. Ground conditions were also varied, ranging from normal dry concrete paving to muddy and slippery paving, grass and irregular ground typical of races in Belgium. The Belgians do love their forest paths, the more treacherous the better... Well, I'm gradually getting used to this type of terrain, although I don't think I'll ever prefer it to good old, straightforward road surfacing. Today I also managed to drink from a cup while running - the trick is to press the rim into a narrow U-shape, and pour the water into my mouth.

I ran at a strong steady pace, never really tiring except for the windier parts in the late stages. I overtook a large number of rivals along the way until in the second loop, the field of competitors having thinned out considerably, I was almost alone. In the last two kilometres I did try to catch up with the next runner who was about 60 metres ahead, but to no avail. I reached the finish at a strong pace in 1h12:44. The slower-than-anticipated time is probably due to the adverse ground and weather conditions.

There will soon be an opportunity to try this again, in hopefully better conditions as the next edition will be on 6 June, and will become part of the Watermolen Cup series. I look forward to coming back here.

... u l-Belġjum reġa' spiċċa bla Prim Ministru

Iż-żewġ qarrejja ta' dal-blogg jindunaw meta jkolli ħafna affarijiet x'nagħmel, għax l-ewwel li jaqgħu lura huma l-kitbiet tiegħi hawnhekk.

Sadattant, imma, kienu qed jiġru skoss affarijiet li normalment kieku nikteb fuqhom.

L-aktar li kien hemm storbju dal-aħħar f'Malta kien għax il-Qorti Ewropea tad-Drittijiet tal-Bniedem aċċettat it-talba ta' Taljana ta' oriġini Finlandiża, fejn qalet li l-preżenza tal-kurċifissi fl-iskejjel tal-istat tmur kontra l-libertà tat-twemmin ta' wliedha. Din f'Malta mill-ewwel dawruha li l-Misilmin jridu jneħħulna r-reliġjon Nisranija, u malajr rajna jfaqqsu gruppi u movimenti mimlija b'minn kollox ħlief b'sentimenti Nsara. Issa sadattant dal-povri Misilmin ma kellhom x'jaqsmu xejn ma' dil-biċċa. Ħareġ ċar li fost ħafna nies f'Malta r-reliġjon Nisranija hija biss simbolu, appuntu l-kurċifiss, li nilbsuh qisu badge u jidentifikana mill-għadu Mislem...

Imbagħad, f'dawn l-aħħar ftit ġranet, seħħew żewġ avvenimenti rimarkevoli fi spazju ta' 24 siegħa.

L-ewwel wieħed kien il-famuż handsball ta' Thierry Henry, li permezz tiegħu Franza rnexxielhom jikkwalifikaw b'mod għal kollox irregolari għall-World Cup tas-sajf li ġej. Iddispjaċieni għax ridt lil Franza jinqalgħu, u ddispjaċieni wkoll għall-Irlandiżi, għax veru taw qalbhom f'dil-logħba. Il-veru tellief f'dil-biċċa kien l-isport tal-football. Kemm ħa jdumu l-FIFA ma jindunaw li r-referees għandhom bżonn l-għajnuna tar-replay biex jifhmu x'ġara? Kemm ħa ndumu nissaportu deċiżjonijiet żbaljati li jipprovdu riżultati foloz, grazzi għall-ebbusija tar-ras ta' Sepp Blatter u n-nies li għandu madwaru? X'fiha daqshekk ħażin it-teknoloġija? Jewwilla l-Eċċellenza Tiegħu Blatter bil-ħmara jmur jarahom il-logħbiet, biex ma jużax it-teknoloġija? L-Irlandiżi żgur tqażżu b'li ġara, imma kieku jien Franċiż żgur ma kontx inkun kuntent b'dil-kwalifikazzjoni falza.

Ftit sigħat wara dil-partita farsa, il-mexxejja tal-pajjiżi tal-Unjoni Ewropea ltaqgħu wara bibien magħluqa biex b'mod mill-aktar trasparenti u demokratiku għażlu min se jkun il-President li se jirrappreżenta lill-Ewropa fuq ix-xena internazzjonali. U l-għażla waqgħat fuq... Herman Van Rompuy! U l-folla dlonk għajtet għalenija: "MIN?" Ħeqq, tgħid ma kinux se jaċċettaw li jisirqilhom ix-xena xi ħadd ta' statura u fama? U allura poġġew lil dan li aktar qisu bejjiegħ tal-ħaxix milli statista mondjali. U b'hekk reġgħu tefgħu lill-Belġjani fi kriżi, għax wara li tant kienu ilhom ifittxu lil xi ħadd biex imexxilhom il-gvern ta' dal-ispeċi ta' pajjiż li għandhom reġgħu sabu ruħhom bla Prim Ministru.

Waqt il-konklavi għażlu wkoll il-Ministru tal-Affarijiet Barranin tal-Ewropa (b'xi titlu stramb li ħadd ma jaf x'inhu, biex l-Ingliżi ma jiħdux għalihom), u biex żgur lill-Ingliżi jżommuhom ferħanin għażlu mara Ingliża, il-Barunessa Something li wkoll ħadd qatt ma sema' biha.

U b'hekk ukoll żammew kuntenti lil min xtaq li jkun hemm mara tirrappreżentana fir-relazzjonijiet barranin. Ma jimpurtax min, basta mara. Viva l-Ewropa, il-kontinent mibni fuq il-kompromessi. Ħeqq, aħjar hekk, ngħiduha, milli nerġgħu lura għall-gwerer dinjija.

Ħames snin

Bħal-lum eżatt ħames snin ilu, fil-15 ta' Novembru 2004, tlaqt minn Malta u ġejt ngħix hawnhekk fil-Belġjum.

Kienu ġranet diffiċli ħafna għall-ewwel, maqtugħ mill-familja, ġo flett b'tieqa waħda żgħira fil-kċina, bla friġġ u bit-tojlit maġenb l-uffiċċju ta' sid il-kera. Minflok il-friġġ kont ninqeda billi npoġġi l-ikel issiġillat f'borża fuq il-bejt, għax it-temperatura barra kienet tvarja bejn 2 u 8 gradi, eżatt daqs ta' friġġ. Kelli nniżżel saqqu fil-kamra ta' ġewwa, biex ma nismax il-ħoss tal-awtostrada billejl. Anzi sid il-kera kien qalbu tajba - irranġali għal television, għall-internet u telefown qabel ma mort, u l-internet kien l-uniku kuntatt tiegħi mal-bqija tad-dinja.

Kelli pjan li kull ġimagħtejn nieħu ġurnata leave biex immur weekend Malta mal-familja. Imma b'xokk kbir skoprejt li ma stajtx nagħmilha minħabba x-xogħol, u kont se niġġennen. Kont f'ħakka t'għajn spiċċajt waħdi ġo gorboġ f'pajjiż mudlam u kiesaħ, miljun mil 'il bogħod minn Sue u Roberta. Meta ndunajt li lanqas biss ma stajt kultant immur narahom ħadtha bi kbira wisq... Kemm bkejt bil-qalb!

Iddeċidejt li did-darba, wara li minn Tripli l-Libja ħames snin qabel kont qtajt qalbi u dabbart lura lejn Malta bil-ġirja, did-darba ddeċidejt li ma naqtax qalbi, inxammar kmiemi u nara x'hemm bżonn isir biex nirnexxi. Fittixt u sibt flett sura ta' nies, f'post sabiħ mhux wisq bogħod mix-xogħol. Sue u Roberta ġew long weekend huma minflok mort jien, u kienet l-aħjar ħaġa li qatt setgħu għamluli. Għenuni nġorr għall-post il-ġdid, nixtri l-għamara u skoss affarijiet oħra tad-dar f'affari ta' ħamest ijiem.

U minn hemm qbadna it-triq għal fejn qegħdin issa. L-istop leave waqaf ħesrem, u stajt nibda mmur Malta nara l-familja. Ix-xogħol kien sejjer tajjeb, ħarir. Kienet l-aħjar mossa li stajt nagħmel għall-karriera. S'issa kelli diżappunt kbir wieħed, imma l-bqija tista' tgħid sodisfazzjonijiet biss. Ftit ftit erġajt bdejt nittrenja, niskopri postijiet sbieħ fil-pajjiż fejn ġejt ngħix. Il-lingwa... erħilha l-lingwa.

Hawnhekk il-ħajja differenti ħafna, imma naqra naqra tadatta ruħek. Tiskopri u tidra d-difetti tal-post, imma wkoll l-affarijiet li qegħdin aħjar minn Malta.

Ħames snin huma żmien twil fil-ħajja ta' bniedem. Minn dakinhar 'l hawn ġraw tant affarijiet. Twieled Gianluca. Sue u t-tfal ġew miegħi hawnhekk. Krejna villa sabiħa għall-kwiet f'Hoeilaart. U sadattant ġejjin u sejrin Malta, minn tlieta sa erba' darbiet kull sena. Il-kuntatt baqa' tant li qisna kull ma għamilna morna ngħixu Għawdex.

Kienu ħames snin tajbin. Erba' maratoni oħra mas-seba' li kont ġemmajt lanqas ma tarmihom...!

Klassifika tat-timijiet kollha tad-dinja

Għal min jinteressah (u naf li ilkom tistennew) din hi l-klassifika tiegħi tat-timijiet kollha fid-dinja, ibda mill-aktar favorit u spiċċa bl-agħar fost l-agħar, li nixtieqhom jibqgħu jeżistu għar-raġuni biss biex inkun nista' nżomm kontrihom.

1. JUVENTUS
2. Fgura United
3. Hibernians
4. It-timijiet kollha Maltin, barra Hibernians u Fgura United
5. Wolves
6. It-timijiet kollha Taljani, barra Juventus, Torino u Inter
7. It-timijiet kollha Belġjani
8. It-timijiet kollha tad-dinja, barra dawk minn 1 sa 7 u minn 9 sa 13
9. It-timijiet kollha ta' Wales, Skozja u l-Irlanda
10. It-timijiet kollha Ingliżi, barra Wolves u Liverpool
11. Torino
12. Liverpool
13. Inter

L-inqas post eżotiku fid-dinja... imżewwaq bil-ġmiel

Fil-ħemda tal-qalba tal-ħarifa, bis-siġar jagħtuna wirja spettakolari ta' kuluri mill-isbaħ, qattajt ġimgħa 'l bogħod mix-xogħol, indawwar lil ommi u 'l missieri li ġew jarawna hawnhekk fil-Belġjum. Kienet l-okkażjoni biex nerġa' nżur xi wħud mill-postijiet l-aktar għal qalbi li hawn f'dan li naqra naqra sar pajjiżi, għallinqas sakemm għadni qed naħdem hawnhekk.

Villers-la-ville, raħal fil-Wallonja li jħaddan il-fdalijiet ta' Abbey antika, li għal xi raġuni ġiet abbandunata. L-ilwien tal-ħarifa komplew sebbħu l-kumpless.

Namur

Kont żort Namur fis-sajf tal-2007, u kien għoġobni. Fit-tieni żjara l-ġimgħa li għaddiet ikkomfermajt, anzi saħħaħt l-impressjoni tajba li kelli ta' dil-belt sabiħa, ħajja, u fl-istess ħin paċifika. Rajna l-parti l-antika, b'diversi monumenti u knejjes spettakolari, il-ħajja movimentata tal-post, ikla ġol-bitħa interna ristorant Taljan - San Marino - li nirrikkmanda lil kull min jitħajjar iżur dil-belt. Imxejna sax-xmara, u tlajna ċ-ċittadella, minn fejn kien hemm veduti mill-isbaħ tal-belt fix-xemx nieżla. Xi ġmiel kien hemm!

Mons - aktar kajmana, medjoevali, kwieta. It-toroq iserrpu 'l hawn u 'l hinn, imma kollha jagħtu għat-telgħa lejn il-quċċata, fejn hemm ukoll qisha ċittadella, b'kampnar enormi li jiddomina l-inħawi kollha tal-madwar. Fost diversi parroċċi hemm il-katidral ta' Sainte Waudru, mimli xogħlijiet artistiċi mill-isbaħ.

Ghent

L-ewwel darba li mort Ghent ma tantx kien temp sabiħ, u kont kemmxejn mhux f'sikkti. Xorta waħda kien irnexxieli niġbed sett ritratti tajbin. Mid-dehra m'għandix naraha fl-aqwa tagħha dil-belt, għax did-darba kienet maqlugħa ta' taħt fuq, bi trakkijiet, krejnijiet, partijiet magħluqa u storbju tat-tħaffir iħassru l-gost kollu. Dħalna fil-katidral ta' Sint Baafs, li għallinqas ma kienx imdawwar bit-tħaffir, u erġajna konna impressjonati bir-rikkezzi li sibna fih. Irnexxieli anki niġbed ritratt fejn ma kien jidher l-ebda makkinarju tal-bini. Anzi le, għax anki f'dan iddeffes it-tarf ta' tower crane. Il-belt magħrufa għall-kampnari u t-torrijiet sfat maħkuma minn tip ieħor ta' torri... Nimmaġina meta jirrestrawraw il-bosta monumenti f'dal-post, u nammetti li għandhom bżonn tajjeb ta' restawr, Ghent jiġi isbaħ milli kien qabel. Imma aħjar nistennihom ilestu.

Cursusaanbod

Dal-Belġjani jġennuk. L-ewwel nett għandhom ġlieda kontinwa bejniethom fuq il-lingwi. Nofshom jitkellmu bl-Olandiż, u n-nofs l-ieħor bil-Franċiż. U ż-żewġ naħat jirrifjutaw li jitkellmu l-lingwa l-oħra. Tant li bilkemm tista' ssejjaħlu pajjiż, imma żewġ pajjiżi mgħaffġin flimkien kontra qalbhom. Anki l-aħbarijiet li jġibu jinjoraw għal kollox dak li qed jiġri fir-reġjun l-ieħor (sakemm ma tkunx xi ħaġa li turi lil tar-reġjun l-ieħor f'dawl ikrah). Għallinqas in-nies jadattaw ruħhom ċivilment bejniethom, skond il-bżonn.

Il-problema hi, sadattant, li l-korrispondenza uffiċjali kollha ssir bil-lingwa tar-reġjun, biss. Fil-prattika, jien li ngħix fil-Flanders fejn jitkellmu bl-Olandiż, nirċievi KULL ittra, tkun minn għand min tkun, bl-Olandiż. Li ma nifhmux. Allura, meta wara tant taqtigħ ta' qalb fl-aħħar waslu biex tawni karta tal-identità Belġjana (bħala konċessjoni l-ħaddiema tal-kunsill lokali hawnhekk ikellmuni bl-Ingliż, avolja mhux suppost), staqsejthom fuq il-possibbiltà li nitgħallem l-Olandiż, ħalli ma nkunx qisni illitterat ma nifhimx A minn B.

Hi, mela, u żgur li noffru lezzjonijiet tal-Olandiż! U veru. Bl-irħis, issussidjat, biex jgħinu lill-barranin jintegraw ruħhom fil-ħajja tal-lokal. Xi ħlew! Tatni panflitt fuq il-korsijiet li joffru biex titgħallem l-Olandiż. Ovvjament, IL-PANFLITT MIKTUB MINN FUQ S'ISFEL BL-OLANDIŻ.

Imma ngħid jien... Kieku kapaċi naqrah dal-imbierek panflitt - kieku m'għandix bżonn immur lezzjonijiet, le? Jew inkella - la ma naf xejn Olandiż, u għalhekk qed nitlobhom biex immur nitgħallmu, kif il-mitt marelli suppost nifhmu l-panflitt li għandi hawn quddiemi? Eh?

Preparing for winter

This young tree is all set and ready for the coming winter. Maybe, hopefully, eventually it will grow up to be a big tree like this:

"Black dust mystery unresolved" - Times of Malta

Imma kemm jifilħu jkunu ridikoli. Numru ta' bliet u rħula madwar il-power station tal-Marsa ilhom ix-xhur jekk mhux is-snin isofru minn xita ta' trab irqiq iswed, li min jaf kif qed jirvina saħħet il-popolazzjoni.

Issa l-MEPA qed taparsi jinvestigaw. Talbu biex jittieħdu diversi kampjuni minn postijiet differenti biex jiġu analizzati. Ir-riżultat? Il-kampjuni huma kkontaminati! U allura ma jistgħux jgħidu x'inhu l-kaġun tat-trab l-iswed...

Mela jistgħu jgħidulna jekk jogħġobhom l-għorrief (probabbli esperti wkoll dawn) tal-MEPA:

1. X'kien ir-riżultat tal-analiżi?
2. Minn xiex kienu kkontaminati l-kampjuni?
3. Kif jistgħu jgħidu li l-kampjuni kienu kkontaminati, meta għadna ma nafux x'suppost fihom?
4. Għax ma qalulniex x'kienet is-sustanza prinċipali fil-kampjuni, u jekk kienx hemm xi sustanza li tinsab komuni fil-kampjuni kollha?
5. Hemm bżonn ikollok kampjun 100% pur biex tkun taf minn xiex jikkonsisti t-trab?
6. Jew qed jippruvaw jgħattu lil xi entità importanti?
7. Se jdumu jippruvaw ibellgħulna r-ross bil-labra?

U sadattant ir-rati tal-ażma fost il-popolazzjoni jkomplu jogħlew, meta diġà huma fost l-ogħla fid-dinja. U l-Ministru tal-Ambjent (jeżisti wieħed?) b'rasu mgħaddsa taħt ir-ramel.

Mela ejja nkantaw flimkien: a one - a two - a one two three, "Konna u għadna ngħixu, f'pajjiż tal-Mickey Mouse..."

Almost all couples want their marriage to succeed!

According to The Times of Malta, this earth-shattering revelation was uttered by an "expert" - theologian Aldigonde Brenninkmeijer.

This is how they entitled this incredible piece of news:

Almost all couples want their marriage to succeed - expert

Eureka!

I wonder where the world would be without the knowledge imparted to us by such wise experts. There I went, thinking that people went into marriage hoping that it would fail. Thank you, Mr theologian Aldigonde Brenninkmeijer. Thank you, The Times, for relaying this important information to us deluded ignoramuses.

Vaclav Klaus

Il-President tar-Repubblika Ċeka Vaclav Klaus ħadd ma kien jaf bih barra minn pajjiżu. Issa rnexxielu jsir famuż mad-dinja kollha. Sar famuż dan Klaus għax se joqgħod jilgħabha tad-diffiċli biex jirratifika t-trattat il-ġdid tal-Unjoni Ewropea. L-opinjoni personali ta' bniedem wieħed iżżomm il-progress ta' kontinent sħiħ, wara li anki l-Irlandiżi vvutaw b'mod ċar favur ir-ratifika. Qal li jrid idaħħal xi klawsola fuq refuġjati ta' wara t-tieni gwerra dinjija biex ma jinsistux li jieħdu lura xi proprjetajiet, xi ħaġa hekk insomma, li ma għandha x'taqsam assolutament xejn mat-trattat. Kemm jiflaħ ikun ridikolu. Dan f'liema pjaneta u f'liema seklu qed jgħix?

Issa naraw kif se joħroġ minnu dal-isqaq li daħal fih.

Sadattant il-fama li akkwista bl-intransiġenza tiegħu wasslet biex ir-ritratt tiegħu jitfaċċa anke fuq blogg insinifikanti bħal ma hu dan.

Conflict? What conflict? There's no conflict!

MAKING THE NATIONAL HEADLINES

Watermolen Cup 2009 - Epilogue

Success!

I have just checked the final classification of the Watermolen Cup competition, and I just managed to scrape through into the 20th position of my category, with 1574 points, barely two points ahead of my closest rival. It was the last position available for obtaining a prize - 16th to 20th place in the male veteran category - a 25 euro voucher from the Watermolen sports shop.

It was the prize I have been aiming for since the beginning of the competition, all the way since March at Dworp, that interesting but very hilly race through forests in that area, just a couple of weeks after the Malta marathon. Two points. Any slower in any one of the seven races (again, the minimum allowable to obtain a classification), and Francois Rotiers would have beaten me for the 20th position.

So, even the disastrous Kortenberg 12k turned out to be extremely important in the end. While, of course, the race for nut cases on a hot 15 August in mid afternoon, the Zaventem half marathon, was the decisive event that gave me the highest number of points in the competition. That was an incredible run!

These 13 races of the Watermolen Cup will from now on be the framework running calendar for my adopted home in Belgium. I intend to repeat the competition next year, just keeping wary of the possibility of having to negotiate some steep, narrow, slippery forest paths on certain occasions. Hopefully, I'll manage to run in those places where I was unable to participate this year.

So thank you, organisers of the Watermolen Cup. I'm keeping the number 5700 for the 2100 edition.

Awguri Obama!

Il-Premju Nobel għall-paċi li għadu kemm rebaħ Barack Obama skond ħafna nies ma ħaqqux jieħdu għax għadu kmieni wisq u għadu ma għamel xejn.

Ma naqbilx ma' dawn in-nies.

Obama għamel l-aktar ħaġa importanti. Daħħal xaqq tama wara snin twal ta' dlam u pessimiżmu. Daħħal sens ta' rieda tajba li kienet nieqsa prattikament fil-kwartieri kollha speċjalment f'dak li kien hemm qablu. Fejn qabel ħafna minna konna nqisu lill-Amerka, u speċjalment lejn min imexxiha, bħala arroganti u l-bully tad-dinja, issa qed inħarsu lejn Barack Obama bħala dak li forsi fl-aħħar idaħħal sens ta' rieda tajba fost il-ġenn ġenerali li taħkem f'tant postijiet madwar id-dinja kollha.

L-aktar ħaġa importanti Obama diġà għamilha. Biddel id-direzzjoni li kien miexi fiha pajjiżu. Biddel l-attitudni lejn il-bqija tad-dinja. Solvihom il-problemi? U żgur li le! Mhux dak il-punt. Naħseb ħadd minn min qatt irċieva l-Premju Nobel tal-paċi ma kien għadu solva l-problemi li kien hemm. Il-Premju mhux dwar ir-riżultati, imma dwar l-impenn biex jinkisbu r-riżultati. Li President tal-Amerka jiddikjara b'mod ċar l-ambizzjoni tiegħu li d-dinja ssir post mingħajr armi nukleari mhix xi ħaġa taċ-ċajt l-aħwa. Qatt ma naf li President Amerikan iddikjara dan daqshekk b'mod miftuħ. Li President tal-Amerka, unilateralment, jabbanduna l-programm ta' missili anti-missili fl-Ewropa, eżatt qabel taħditiet ta' summit mar-Russja, mhix xi ħaġa taċ-ċajt l-aħwa.

Obama issa sar il-mexxej li ħafna nies jixtiequ li kieku kien ta' pajjiżhom. Għandu kariżma u fuq kollox għandu viżjoni . B'xorti tajba nzerta qiegħed fil-pożizzjoni fejn l-iktar jista' jkollu influwenza qawwija. Il-Premju Nobel, minbarra r-rikonoxximent lil Obama talli daħħal it-tama mill-ġdid f'dinja mifnija bil-pessimiżmu, għandu effett ieħor importanti. Se jirresponsabbilizzah biex ikompli jaħdem ħalli jikseb dawk ir-riżultati li x-xettiċi qed igergru li għadhom ma waslux. Issa li qed iġorr dit-tikketta fuqu tal-Premju Nobel tal-paċi, Obama jrid jaħdem biex ikompli jiġġustifika t-timbru li ngħata. Voldieri l-premju għandu jservi bħala spinta oħra biex forsi 'l quddiem ikollna dinja inqas miġnuna minn din li hawn bħalissa.

"Deċiżjonijiet" li ħarġu bl-iskont

Ir-regoli l-ġodda jgħidulhom. Imma suppost mhux "Deċiżjonijiet fuq il-varjanti" kellhom ikunu? Mela ħa naraw x'kienu l-aktar deċiżjonijiet importanti li suppost qatgħu il-kundanna fuq hekk imsejħa "varjanti".

Nibdew biċ-ċelebrità l-kbira nett, dik li tant għandhom għal qalbhom.

Fil-fatt jien dawn insejħilhom deċiżjonijiet li ħarġu bl-iskont, u bl-iskont affarijiet ta' bl-irħis tistenna. Mela. Jekk għal ħajjitna kollha ilna dejjem niktbu skond, naħseb hemm raġuni. Ir-raġuni jagħtuha d-dizzjunarji kollha tal-Malti li hawn fl-univers: għax ġejja mit-Taljan "secondo". Din ma kinitx varjant! "Skond" ħadd ma (kien) jiktibha bl-ebda mod ħlief kif jien niktibha hawn. "Għax irridu nħaffu l-kitba għal min isib il-Malti diffiċli...". JITGĦALLMU! Għalhekk jeżistu l-iskejjel. Il-kliem bl-Ingliż safrattant ma nispelluhx kif jinħass, imma nitgħallmu kif niktbuh kelma b'kelma! "Għax hemm id-derivattivi skonti, skontok, skontu...". MHUX VERU. Skonti mhix kelma, imma aberrazzjoni. Bil-Malti korrett ngħidu "skond jien" u "skond inti". Skont ħaġa waħda biss tista' tfisser - roħs fil-prezz.

Imbagħad ammettewha allura, li bl-ossessjoni li għandhom li jinkiteb kollox kif jinħass, Sindku suppost saret Sintku. Imma tant "indrat" li ħallewha kif kienet, qalu. Allura "skond" ma ndratx! Morru qallbu ftit fil-liġijiet ta' Malta ħa taraw jekk indratx. Jew fit-testi tal-Vanġelu bil-Malti. U ħalluna tridu!

Aktar bużullotti: kasbar issa jriduha każbar. Din ma kinitx varjant lanqas. Kulħadd kasbar kien jikteb, ħlief min ma tgħallimhiex sew fl-iskola. Allura nġiegħlu lil kulħadd jikteb bħall-injuranti. Għafrid issa jriduha għafrit. U ĦALLUNA TRIDU!

Mela għiduli din. Għaliex inbid ma saritx imbit? Għaliex żrinġ ma saritx żrinċ, u żrinċijiet? Għaliex bodbod ma saritx bodbot u bdabat? Dawn l-ebda waħda m'għandha derivat minnha, u bir-raġunar tas-salvaturi tal-lingwa Maltija suppost jinkitbu kif jinħassu. Biex ma nsemmix it-tvalja, li jriduha dvalja. JAQQ! Maħmuġa naħseb id-dvalja.

Iċ-ċelebrità l-kbira l-oħra li ħarbtet il-korp sħiħ ta' mijiet u eluf ta' kotba li jiffurmaw il-letteratura Maltija kollha li hemm teżisti, u li issa ġew kollha miktubin ħażin, hi d-deċiżjoni li l-prepożizzjonijiet ta' u ma', quddiem kelma bl-artiklu li tibda b'vokali jew konsonanti silenzjuża, issa se jingħaqdu mal-artiklu. Mela għal ħajjitna kollha tgħallimna, kollha kemm aħna, niktbu "ta' l-annimali", "ma' l-artiklu", "ta' l-Olanda". Mur dur dawra ma' Malta, u ara l-ismijiet tat-toroq miktubin mal-kantunieri. "Triq ta' l-Inkwiżitur", "Triq ta' l-Għasafar", kemm trid tara. DIN MA KINITX VARJANT, imma regola li kien jafha kulħadd. Jew għallinqas kull min indenja ruħu jitgħallem il-Malti sew fl-iskola. Imma kien hemm min ma tgħallimhiex ir-regola, u allura? Allura nibdlu r-regola, u b'daqqa ta' pinna kull ktieb li qatt ġie ppubblikat bil-Malti issa qiegħed spellut ħażin. Bravi! Bravi tassew! Povri t-tfal li jġiegħluhom jistudjaw il-letteratura Maltija għall-Matrikola tal-Malti, fuq kotba spelluti ħażin.

Hemm oħrajn ta. Il-bieraħ saret ilbieraħ. Imma x'tathom f'għajnhom din? KULĦADD IL-BIERAĦ KIEN JIKTEB! Għalfejn dat-tidwir għalxejn jaħasra? Se nġennu 'l kulħadd! Jew l-oħra, "Ammenn", eh sori, "Ammen". U ejja! Amen, f'ġieħ kemm hemm. Kulħadd hekk jafha, kulħadd hekk jiktibha, fid-dinja kollha. Nixtieq naf x'qalu fil-Kurja meta raw dar-regoli. Ikun imfaħħar il-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti! Allura jekk se taqli bajda, aqlija sew. Dik mhux Ammen tinħass, imma Ammenn. Jekk trid tispelliha kif tħossha, allura ħossha sew.

Ara, ħa mmur 'l hemm. Insellmilkom, u nixtiqilkom illejlittajjeb...

Iċ-ċ bit-tikka

Naħseb l-espressjoni "ċ bit-tikka" hu l-uniku ġid li qatt ħareġ minn dik l-imbierka tikka li l-professuri tal-Malti kienu insistew, u donnhom għadhom qed jinsistu, li għandna npoġġu fuq is-c.

Żomm. Is-c? Jew iċ-c?

U hemm titfaċċa l-problema, u r-raġuni għala naħseb li jmissna nneħħu t-tikka darba għal dejjem minn fuq iċ-ċ. Billi l-ittra c ma teżistix fil-Malti, lanqas għandna mezz kif ngħiduha bil-Malti, u jinqalgħu ħafna u ħafna każi fejn niġu bżonn naqrawha, prattikament kull fejn ikun hemm sensiela ta' oġġetti li jingħarfu minn xulxin b'ittra differenti. Il-Maltin insolvuha billi naqrawha bl-Ingliż. Appuntu. M'għandhiex isem bil-Malti għaliha. U lanqas ma jkun korrett li taqraha "ċe", għax bla tikka ma hix "ċe".

Eliminajna mill-alfabett tagħna waħda mill-aktar ittri komuni fil-lingwi tista' tgħid kollha tad-dinja li huma bbażati fuq l-alfabett Latin. U għalxejn jaħasra! "Għax hemm storja warajha." Allura? Is-soltu tagħna l-Maltin. Ħloqna rota kwadra.

B'dir-rota kwadra, allura, "ċentimetru" fil-qosor jiktbuha "ċm" - li xjentifikament hija sagrileġġ! L-istandard internazzjonali tal-qisien jispeċifika ċar li l-indikatur ta' wieħed minn kull mija huwa "c", bħalma 1 minn kull elf huwa "m", wieħed minn kull miljun huwa "μ", miljun huwa "M" (mega-), eċċetra. Dawn l-istandards josservahom kulħadd l-istess, u ma jistax ikun mod ieħor ladarba l-istess xjenza hi pprattikata fuq skala globali. U allura ħadd ma joqgħod jilgħab bit-tikek "għal raġunijiet storiċi" - ċentimetru tinkiteb cm, bil-lingwi kollha. Full stop. Imma mur spjegaha din lill-iskoss professuri li għandna. Kull fejn tħares "ċm", left right and centre. Meta mhux ukoll jagħmlulek °Ċ għal Celsius, għax mingħalihom li tfisser ċentigradi...

Le, le, il-premju Nobel fil-fiżika għad nieħdu xi darba.

Post-marathon blues?

So what's next after last Sunday's marathon?

Medium term: quite a clear target here - the Vise Maasmarathon. This event, which is held in May, starts at Vise in Belgium, going along the Meuse (Maas) riverbank into Maastricht in the Netherlands, and back to the starting point. It's an interesting idea, and in fact the organisers market this marathon as an intra-European event, in full European integration spirit. It seems to be a pleasant enough, flat route, not too crowded. The month of May itself is attractive. Seven months is enough time to take a good rest from last Sunday and build up to the next marathon. Besides, I enjoyed Maastricht when I visited it last summer, and would love to include it in my next marathon. So, unless any unforeseen circumstances crop up, the Vise Maasmarathon it will be.

Long term: to run as many marathons as my health and well-being will allow. I have two targets in particular, but I won't spell them out yet... Make that three.

Short term: ah, there I get stuck. Nothing interesting in sight except for a long, dark winter, which one can hardly consider to be very interesting. They don't organise many races during winter here, at least, not any that I know of. I won't even be in Malta in time for my favourite Mdina-Spinola this year, so basically I don't have anything at all to motivate me, except the Vise marathon. Actually it might be a good thing as I can relax for a while. But will I have any motivation to do speed training? I don't think so!

Mil-lum il-gallarija fetħet it-twieqi hawnhekk

Ħallejt jumejn bil-midalja tal-maratona żżejjen il-parti ta' fuq tal-blogg - issa wasal il-mument li ngħaddi għall-kumment li jmiss u allura nressaq ir-ritratt tal-midalja waħda 'l isfel.

Iddeċidejt li ma tagħmilx sens li mmantni tliet bloggs. Tan-naħa l-oħra se jibqa' hemm arkivju, mimli materjal li dehrli li kien interessanti meta ktibtu, u li dejjem insibu interessanti meta mmur inqalleb ftit fih. Imma mil-lum 'il quddiem se ngħaqqad kollox hawn: atletika, politika, sports, ritratti, kummenti fuq aħbarijiet u ħsibijiet oħra ġeneralment strambi li jgħadduli minn moħħi. Il-problema tal-lingwa solvejtha. Nippreferi nikteb bil-Malti, u allura bil-Malti se nikteb. Jekk ikolli xi ispirazzjoni bl-Ingliż, l-Ingliż jifhmuh ħafna nies, u nwaddabha bl-Ingliż.

Semmejt tliet bloggs - it-tielet wieħed se jibqa' l-uniku wieħed tematiku, u hu għal qalbi ferm - dwar foresta ċkejkna fiċ-ċentru tal-univers li jisimgħa Lilliput. Naħseb Marisa Micallef kienet tkun kburija kieku ħolqot id-dinja tal-goblins li ġbart hemmhekk... Imma l-materjal għal hemm hu rari, u trid vera taħkimni l-ispirazzjoni biex nirrakkonta xi ġrajja li sseħħ f'Lilliput.

Dik hi mela, l-aħwa. Mil-lum 'il quddiem il-blogg tiegħi hu dan biss. Nispera li jogħġobkom. Sorry - nispera li jogħġbok (lill-uniku qarrej tal-blogg). Anzi, naħseb inkun aktar korrett jekk ngħid - nispera li jogħġobni!

Brussels marathon - 3h30:20

I have mixed feelings about this, my 11th marathon, that I ran today.

It's already a fine achievement, considering that the last three weeks have been disrupted by illness. As I waited to start, in fact, I would happily settle for simply completing the run, thereby adding another marathon to my collection. But the way it turned out I'm just a bit disappointed that I missed beating the 3h30 barrier by just 20 seconds, and more so considering what happened in the very final kilometre.

I started off well, as per plan, running at just under 5 minutes per kilometre, i.e. potentially sub-3h30. The cough that has been tormenting me for the past weeks was nowhere in evidence, and the only irritation was a large group of runners following the 3h30 pace-setter, who were often getting in the way in bottlenecks and especially at drinking stations. They would come marching past me, and then I would run past them. This happened several times throughout the marathon until eventually they took a commanding lead and left me alone. Tonight I'll probably dream of large yellow balloons...

The kilometre markers were erratic, but on average it was clear that I was gaining ground on my target time. Like in Malta last March I tried to avoid competing with other runners and concentrated on my own pace, but it was almost impossible to ignore the yellow balloons. As I approached the half way mark I started to lose ground on the 5min/km pace, but regained the pace up the hill towards Quatre Bras and then towards Tervuren Park. It really looked, then, that I was on my way to another memorable finishing time, similar to what I achieved in Malta (3h26).

Alas! Coming out of Tervuren, at around the 30km mark, I ran out of steam. Nothing too dramatic: I just couldn't run as fast as I had been running before. I looked forward to the long descent following the 32nd kilometre hoping to regain lost ground, which I didn't, and then I realised that I wouldn't be able to hold the initial pace until the finish.

So I decided to change tactics. At the foot of the downhill, at 35k, I decided to ignore the watch and just concentrated on reaching the end. This was at the beginning of a 2km long hill, at Woluwe park, where we were joined by the runners of the half marathon, and here I realised that I was running much faster than all these people who had run 21km less than me! This realisation gave me a strong morale boost, and I ran up this hill quite strongly, although I had now to take care to ward off a new peril - cramps - which I managed to (just) keep at bay by avoiding sudden movements and accelerations.

Beyond the Montgomery roundabout, into Cinquantenaire Park, with just 3km to go, I only had one thing in mind - to get to the finish, slightly disappointed at the loss of pace. The final stretch was Rue de la Loi, where I go to work everyday, and eventually descending into the centre of Brussels to finish at the Grand Place. 40km. 41km. With 1.2km to go I decided to look at the watch to get an estimate of my completion time. To my great surprise the watch said 3h24m and 5 seconds. I had a fighting chance of breaking 3h30 after all!

So here I threw all caution to the wind. The cramp had disappeared, I was still feeling strong, and I ran as fast as I could for the final 1.2km. A few hundred metres later there was an incident involving an ambulance, a man with a travelling case and several runners getting jammed up at a bottleneck, blocking my way and disrupting my mad rush to the finish. One lady runner became very angry indeed as I had to practically push her in the back while coming to an abrupt stop... In the end it didn't make a difference as it turned out that, yet again, the 41km marker had been placed too early and I was to miss the target by 20 seconds, a good deal more than the 2 seconds' delay caused by the blockage.

When you miss a target by a few seconds you tend to try to find where you could have done better. Could I have kept a better rhythm by looking at the watch at each of the final few kilometres? Maybe. Probably not. What I do know is that I achieved a first today - finishing a marathon at a sprint! It goes to show there's still a lot of power left in the good old legs... Ah yes, and another first - two marathons in the same calendar year.

The statistics are not bad looking at all:
400th place out of 1647 starters and 1569 finishers
65th male Over 45
Pace exactly 5 minutes per kilometre

And now, on to the 12th marathon!

P.S. After the finish, we had to limp on for a long, long walk (they said it's 800 metres, but it seemed much longer than that) to collect our bags from the Far Far Away Sports Hall. What a shame! It took me forever to get there. This, and the erratic kilometre markers marred an otherwise beautiful route. I'll probably look elsewhere for my future marathons.

Marathon weekend

Before I ran the Malta marathon last March, I had decided to dedicate this year following that event to shorter races instead of concentrating on another marathon. But I did so well in the Malta marathon, and enjoyed it so much, that I quickly found a way to include a training schedule for another one, tomorrow's Brussels marathon, along with the various races that I would do throughout the year.

The combined shorter races plus marathon schedule went extremely well, even during the three weeks in the peak of summer in Malta, when I managed two runs, each at 2h45m, very early on Sunday mornings. Those two runs were quite an adventure, and were chronicled in this blog last July. The build up also included a half marathon on 15 August, on a hot afternoon this time in Belgium, three 3hr runs and another 3h15m run, all according to schedule. I was quite confident of achieving a result comparable to the 3h26m marathon in Malta.

But on 13 September, the day after the longest run exactly three weeks before the event, I received a nasty birthday gift in the shape of a cold. I was lucky, in a way. Any earlier and I wouldn't have managed to complete the build-up. Any later and it would have been too late to recover in time. As it turned out, I barely managed to recover, and my carefully planned tapering phase was turned literally upside-down. I had to be very careful if I didn't want all the hard training and preparations to go to waste. If I waited until I was fully recovered, I would enter the marathon with barely any running at all in the previous three weeks, or with sore muscles due to having resumed running after a long break - not a good idea. On the other hand, if I trained too hard while still not recovered I would remain sick.

So I had to look for a compromise somewhere, and kicked off after one week without any running, a fortnight ago when the worst seemed to be over. A short easy 6k on Sunday (in the afternoon to avoid the chill air of the morning), then a 10k on Monday, and a long run of two hours in an extended mid-day break on Wednesday. This was another compromise between the originally planned 2h30m at minus 2 weeks and 1h30m one week before the marathon, the two long runs of the tapering phase rolled into one. I did suffer some consequences after this effort - sore muscles and renewed coughing - but it was necessary to prevent my leg muscles from becoming too lazy... Two days' complete rest after that, then easy 10k's on alternate days, with slow but sure improvement in fitness and a decreasing urge to cough.

I now estimate my fitness to be at 90% of the ideal. Will it be enough for tomorrow?

My forecast is this. I'll manage to complete my 11th marathon tomorrow, which is what really matters in the end. Any less would be a huge disappointment, but it certainly wouldn't be through any lack of effort of mine. I won't try to compete with anyone, although I hope I'll still manage to run at 5 minutes per kilometre to beat the 3h30m target. I also expect a tough final thirty minutes, probably involving cramps in one or both calves, due to the missing 10% from my ideal level of fitness.

Two years ago, I ran the Brussels marathon without expecting to finish it. I just hope that tomorrow it won't be the opposite case. Maybe one day I'll take part, and I won't get a cold just a few weeks before the event.

Tapering phase - major disruption

The last few weeks before a marathon are the most critical. It's so close to the event that you hardly have any time to get back on track if anything goes wrong. Which is why it's such a big blow if you get a simple common cold during this period.

You see, the final weeks of preparation are very definitely structured. At minus 3 weeks there's the biggest long run before the marathon. Any earlier would be too early, and the benefits would start to wear off by marathon day. Any later would be too close, and there wouldn't be enough time left to rest properly. So, there's hardly any chance of flexibility - 3 weeks before the marathon I have to do my longest run, 3h15m, period. This is followed by the tapering phase, a gradual decrease in training leading to the marathon. In the last few days before the marathon there's hardly any training at all.

This is all well and good, IF you don't fall prey to a silly ailment such as the common cold. As I said, since we're so close to the event there's no time left to allow for easing back into the routine. If you can't run at minus three weeks, then you'll have to do away with the longest long run, and the longest training run would be a shorter run, say 3hr, FOUR weeks before the event. So it's probably goodbye to any excellent performance in the marathon.

I've been lucky. I got my cold on the day exactly following my longest run. It was the best possible time to have a cold during the month preceding a marathon. One week without training, but enough time left to recover normal muscular fitness. Except that at the end of the one week I couldn't afford to remain sitting down any longer, and with the symptoms almost over I resumed on Sunday with a short run, followed by my standard easy 10k, a day off to allow the inevitable muscle soreness to go away, and today a midweek long run - duration exactly midway between what I was supposed to have done last Sunday (2h30) and what I would have done next Sunday (1h30) if things had gone according to schedule. So today I ran for 2 hours.

Now I'm walking a very fine balance between staying fit - running fit - and staying healthy, i.e. a full recovery from the cold. Not enough training, and the marathon becomes a very difficult enterprise. I got cramps today because of the one week layoff, so I still need to work to get my leg muscles used to the activity of running for a long distance. Too much training, and I get sick again, and the symptoms are taking a long time to go away...

I'm confident it will be alright on the day. From now on it's one and a half weeks of pampering and easy 10k's. I just have to take it easy and hope for the best.

Vossem 12km - 0h53:46

Vossem seems to me to be a quiet, sleepy village, surrounded by agricultural land and parks, close to the more famous Tervuren. Arriving here, I noticed two landmarks that were noteworthy. One is a large farm building, pictured above, quite striking as you're approaching the village centre. The other is the church dedicated to Saint Paul that dates back to the 12th century, with construction typical of very old structures, with bricks embedded in mortar, but very well kept. Pity I couldn't have a look inside, as I was dressed rather inappropriately in short shorts and running vest...

This weekend they had their Dorpsfeesten, whatever that is. The sleepy quiet character of the place was of course shattered on this occasion. There was a street market, a stage, someone shouting on a PA system, and lots of chips and beer stalls, always all too present in these races, without it being possible for me to buy anything since I don't carry any money with me during races!

Again, it was awfully hot today, as I embarked on my seventh race in the Watermolen Cup, which would ensure a placing in the final classification. Again, I had to drink lots of water before the race, and pour lots more on top of my head to cool down a little bit. And yet again I cursed the strange idea of race organisers in Belgium, who could easily schedule August races in the morning, or in the evening, so that participants might run in temperatures that are better suited for endurance events. But no! The races have to start in the hottest part of the day, in mid-afternoon.

Well, 10k is more achievable than 21k. But I made it a point to stick to a cautious pace, at least for the first third of the race. All this Watermolen Cup series has for me been a bit of a jump in the dark, since I have never done any one of the races, so I didn't know what to expect during the routes. So, again, today I didn't know if it was a single or a double loop, if it was a flat or a hilly race, or if we would be doing easy-going bicycle lanes and normal roads, or if we would be doing any treacherous forest paths that the Belgians seem to like so much.

For a couple of kilometres it was normal streets, going slightly uphill or downhill. There was a double kilometre marker after 2km, saying "2km 8km". How sweet of them, I thought, 2km gone, 8 to go. We entered a wood and the ground started to get rough. But I had settled into a good steady pace, even though the quality of the ground kept deteriorating. There were a couple of stretches of single file running. Luckily, it has only rained on rare occasions for the past few weeks, otherwise this would have been another mud feast. Instead it was bone dry and very dusty. It seemed as if I was running in Tunisia rather than in Belgium.

A second, cryptic kilometre marker: 4km 10km. What the hell? Did they mean the 4th kilometre of the 10km race? Maybe. Then an even stranger marker: 5km 11km. Never mind. But one question had been answered. It was not a double loop, since at the half-way point, i.e. 5km, we hadn't passed the starting point. Or so I thought. A few minutes later I started to hear shouting on a PA system, and suddenly it clicked and all the cryptic kilometre markers made utterly perfect sense: we were doing a double loop after all, the half-way mark being at 6km!

They had advertised a 10km race, but in actual fact it was going to be 12km long.

What a mean trick to play on a hot August afternoon. When I go out for a run, whether it's training or a race, I'm mentally prepared for the distance. When doing a 10k, at the end of that 10k I'm unable to contemplate any more, while two days later I would be quite capable of running 30km without any undue trouble. It's a psychological thing. But there's also the physical aspect. The pace of a 10k is faster than that of a 12k, and I had been running at the former pace, with consequent expenditure of energy. Now I had to keep going for an extra 2 kilometres, which was no joke in that heat. So, I switched to '12k mode', aiming to maintain the good position that I had achieved up till then.

Luckily, it was early enough for me to readjust and 'absorb' the additional distance into my race. I also happened to be in good shape, and it seems that I had hit on the optimum pace. Another advantage was that now, having done one loop, I knew what to expect, so I could prepare myself (mentally, again) for the hard parts, and again I overtook a good number of rivals even the second part. No stopping for drinks today - I reckoned I could survive the distance without having to stop to drink in the plastic cups provided, thanks to my extra pre-race hydration.

After the final bit of steep forest path I felt a bit groggy, but there were just two kilometres left to go, mostly downhill, and I quickly recovered a strong pace that took me beyond more rivals up to the finish.

It was a fantastic performance overall, one of my very best this year.

Zaventem half marathon - 1h38:55

Most people consider summer in Belgium to be a bit of a joke. "Summer? What summer?" they will say. This idea is apparently shared by Dwars door Zaventem, the organisers of the annual Zaventem half marathon that takes place on 15 August, the main summer holiday in Europe. It must be the reason why they don't choose a different time for the race, which takes place at the peak of the afternoon heat starting at 2 p.m.

To be fair, today happened to be abnormally hot. The maximum temperature has been in the low twenties since quite a few days, but it went up to around 30 C precisely on the day of the half marathon. Still, surely it's not unheard of that temperatures tend to be hot in the afternoon at the peak of summer. Would it be such a bad idea then for a half marathon in mid-August to start at, say, 10 a.m. rather than at 2 p.m.?

Whatever - 2 p.m. it was, and that's when I joined the small crowd of long distance diehards at the starting line, under a scorching sun at the edge of the communal park in Zaventem. I had known since close to a week that it would be very hot today, so I was well prepared, having taken a lot of water, plus poured another bottle over the top of my head to cool me down.

Having had a few disappointments in racing recently, owing to having started too fast, my aim today, also given the prevailing conditions, would be simply to complete the run, without aiming for any spectacular finishing time. So I positioned myself in the middle of the pack, and for a good while simply ran along with them, trying not to exert myself at all. It was a bit the same way as I run a marathon.

It was amusing how many runners were jostling to secure a place wherever there was a little bit of shade. Zaventem is famous for hosting the "Brussels" international airport, but I was quite surprised that neither at the start nor during the run was this evident at all. In fact Zaventem turned out to be a typical Flemish town with the main feature (apart from the airport) being the church, and consisting mainly of residential streets, parks and cycling lanes.

To my huge relief we didn't have any treacherous forest paths to negotiate. It was simply terra firma all the way, and also relatively flat, so I could easily settle into the steady pace for which I had been aiming. For the first time ever, I stopped at water stations, where we were (yet again) offered water in cups. I was prepared for this too, and had already decided I couldn't afford to spill the precious fluid. I would stop for 5 seconds to gulp down the entire contents of the cup and resume my run. Four such stops would only cost me 20 seconds, and were more than worthwhile since the alternative would be to eventually give up due to dehydration.

In the middle part of the race I gained quite a few positions. As I passed one particular runner, he jokingly told me "professional", and I replied, "well, almost but not quite...". But in fact I was doing well, and soon realised that there were just 5 km remaining. I hadn't overtaken anyone for a good stretch, and after another kilometre decided this was the time when I could push myself a bit more, encouraged by the fact that I had been told that the final 4 km were mostly downhill.

I'm still undecided whether it was the right decision. I did, in fact, overtake various other rivals, but with 2 km to go my steam ran out, and they were a very tough final 2 km. As if this wasn't enough, there was a 'sting' in the final few hundred metres, as we had to do a loop in the park, part of which was a rather steep hill, turning into a finishing downhill stretch on the grass. Still, no one overtook me at all in those last 2 km, so I suppose in fact I actually gained a few positions by deciding to force the pace.

What a race! A half marathon under the hot afternoon sun in mid-August, with the temperature in the shade at 29 C. Unfortunately, there was no complimentary beer or wine or memento here either. They gave us an apple. Maybe they're concerned for our health, although there was lots of beer for sale... I also got a ticket for a lottery ("tombola") with prizes including a mountain bike. The draw would take place two hours later, at 6. I didn't have a single cent on me, so I staggered towards the car and drove back home. I probably won the mountain bike, but wasn't there to claim the prize. I still have the tombola ticket, number 720.

Kortenberg - 12.4 km - 0h56:28

A week ago I yearned for the "quiet, peaceful, clean, car-free shaded cool of a forest in Belgium". Well, today I got my forest with a vengeance, but it was just a bit more than I had bargained for...

It was certainly quiet, there were no cars threatening to run me over, it was reasonably cool and also shaded, much too shaded, so shaded that running as I always do without my glasses I could hardly see where I was going and seriously feared twisting an ankle. It was also clean. Well, sort of. That's if you consider ankle-deep mud to be clean. At least there wasn't any vomit on the ground, as there had been in my 'Pigsty Run' of last Sunday.

There's this thing about races in Belgium. If there's a forest in the vicinity, they'll take you there. And they're not happy to simply route them through well-worn and well-made forest paths that are wide enough to allow overtaking, and smooth enough to be suitable for running fast. No! They prefer narrow, treacherous paths, preferably with tree roots growing on the surface, perfectly placed to trip you up. The paths are inclined sideways, with a sharp drop into a ravine next to the lower edge. When it rains, the ground becomes muddy and slippery, so after struggling up a steep hill, side-stepping across a watery trench or sometimes through ankle-deep mud, you get no reprieve at the downhill parts, as you have to be extra careful you don't slip and hurt yourself badly.

I have to admit, irrespective of the horrid ground conditions, that I wasn't in good shape today. It happens sometimes. Maybe I was hampered by the fact that I haven't been doing any speed training recently. Or my legs are tired through too much long distance running. Or the extreme heat of the past three weeks in Malta have sapped my energy resources.

Whatever... I console myself with the fact that, even though this is now my second successive race which ended in disappointment, I'm still doing very well in my long runs, and that's what really matters if I want to run a successful Brussels marathon this October. In fact, as I struggled through the mud of the Kortenberg forest today, I decided to forget about racing and satisfy myself with simply completing the run and avoiding injury, thereby bagging points for the Watermolen Cup.

Back on terra firma in the last kilometre, where I could finally run properly, I tried to re-enter into the spirit of the race by competing and trying to overtake some of those whom I had allowed to pass at the one-man wide passages in the forest. Even this was only a partial success, as I had to contend with an occasional sharp cramp in my left calf. It really wasn't my day today.

At the finish I grabbed and drank a can of mineral water, named Vlaams something and labelled strictly and exclusively in their blessed Vlaams language, then immediately proceeded toward the car to drive back home. They didn't give us any memento or a bottle of beer or wine as most other race organisers do.

Or even a bag of crisps.

Running in a pigsty

Early morning, Sunday 26 July, 2009. Swieqi - Pembroke - Paceville - St Julian's. Another success from my running point of view, as I managed to do my second 2h45m run in July in Malta, this one in the middle of a heatwave with maximum temperatures reaching 40 C. So, I'm very satisfied that my run-up towards the October Brussels marathon proceeds without interruption, in spite of the difficult hurdle posed by a three-week stay in an impossibly hot climate.

But from a more general perspective, I can only cry in dismay. This time I left several water bottles to pick up at different stages of the run outside my own home in Swieqi, from where I ran a number loops in the surrounding neighbourhood. Most of these went through Swieqi towards St Andrew's Road, into the new Pembroke bypass towards the Radisson Hotel, and back.

On one occasion I decided to break the monotony, and do a detour through the picturesque coastline of St George's Bay towards Paceville and then to St Julian's. It was a bad mistake. The scene was pretty enough. The early morning sun was rising, lighting up the calm waters of St George's Bay in many hues of yellow, orange and fiery red. It was a beautiful sunrise. Around me, on the ground, there was vomit and rubbish, while the air had a strong smell of piss, complemented by a background sweet chirping of loud drunken louts.

I skirted Paceville, and moved on towards more familiar terrain - the St Julian's promenade. For a couple of hundred metres, it was the same old well-worn path that I know and love so well. Then I reached the morning-after scene of the Madonna tal-Karmnu feast. More rubbish, untold quantities of rubbish, plus a nauseating stink. I turned back to Swieqi in disgust, and from then on stuck to the monotonous but relatively clean Swieqi - Radisson route.

As I pounded the hot pavement, I couldn't help pondering the sorry state of our society. To honour the gods of entertainment of Paceville, and to honour the Madonna tal-Karmnu of Balluta, so many people have to behave just like animals. Most of them are probably very concerned about protecting Maltese "culture" and "values" from what they consider to be an "invasion" of African illegal immigrants. But if this is the "culture" they wish to preserve for our children and grandchildren, then all I can say is, God help us.

My next long run will be in the peaceful, quiet, car-free, clean, shaded cool of a forest in Belgium. What a relief that will be.

Staggering back to oblivion

To run a marathon you need to build up your long runs over several months before the event. If this period includes a three-week stay in an infernally hot place, then you need to include at least one very long run during this three-week stay.

This was the problem that had long been on my mind as I was building up my training for the upcoming Brussels marathon in October. This July I'm staying in Malta, where the temperature rises from 23 C early in the morning to the high twenties by 9 am, reaching a maximum above 30 C practically everyday.

So how would I be able to run for 2 hours 45 minutes without dying of heatstroke? To solve the problem I decided to start extra early in the morning, at 5:15, and devised a plan whereby I would remain sufficiently hydrated throughout the run. I filled four half-litre bottles with water and chilled them overnight. Three of these I placed on the ground behind my car, which I parked next to the Exiles beach car park. The plan was that I would run for 12 and a half minutes away from the car park and then back to the starting point, where I would pick one bottle and run out again for another 25-minute loop, drinking the life-saving fluid along the way. I would run three such loops for a total of 75 minutes, and then at 6:30 I would pick up the third half-litre bottle and join my running mates, who at that time were to kick off their 90-minute run from the same place. This added up to the target total of 2h45m, which I would run in relatively cool temperatures.

The Sliema seafront was surprisingly busy for such an ungodly hour in the morning. In particular, there were late night "revellers" staggering back to oblivion, and several cleaners clearing up the mess left overnight by the masses. But the air was fresh, and my long-awaited run kicked off extremely well. Coming back from my first loop I met a group of runners who are training for the Berlin marathon this September. In fact it was one of them, Sylvana Ungaro, who had given me the idea of starting my long run very early in the morning, before sunrise. I greeted them cheerily, and proceeded back to Exiles.

But then, at the end of the second loop, disaster struck - the water bottles, which I had carefully placed on the ground behind my parked car, were all gone! Probably, some well-meaning cleaner picked them up thinking they were rubbish left behind from the previous night, and I was left with close to two hours still to run in the sweltering heat of the Maltese summer, with no water at all to consume...

Drat, drat, and double drat! Well, sort of. The words in the early dawn at Exiles beach were different, but the gist was the same. I ran around the carpark for a couple of minutes, almost like a headless chicken, looking around in the forlorn hope that the life-saving bottles had been placed somewhere close. No such luck! But I remembered that I had a fourth bottle locked in the car, to be used at the end of the run. I opened the car boot, grabbed the bottle, and went off again, this time towards home with the intention of refilling there. On the way I met a sizeable number of my prospective running mates, all riding a mountaine bike with clearly no intention at all of going on a long run. Good luck to them, I'll work this one out on my own as I always do when I'm in Belgium. Then I remembered that at the promenade on top of the Exiles beach there are drinking water taps, which I could very well use to refill my one precious surviving bottle.

So I ran back towards the starting point, as planned in the very beginning, and my heart sank as I noticed that where previously there had been a drinking water tap, there was... nothing. More drats. Last resort, another drinking water tap that I remembered was just behind the corner after the Sliema tower, and - eureka! - the magic fluid spluttered out into the empty plastic bottle. The water even turned out to taste good, without the iodine flavour that it used to have in the past.

At the Exiles car park there were Antoine Attard, Peter Barbara, Alfred Demarco and Savo Ristic waiting for others, who would never arrive. We started off in the direction of Tigne', then always following the coastline to Gzira, Ta' Xbiex, Msida, Floriana, the Valletta bus terminus and all the way back, without too much effort, at a calm, sustained pace.

That was it - I had done it! Two hours and 45 minutes, in the middle of the Maltese summer, my longest run ever in July, and now I know exactly what I need to do today week to repeat the session, in what will probably be more severe weather conditions.

Brussels marathon, here I come!

The watermelon race - Birzebbuga 10k, 10 July 2009

Birzebbuga, a seaside resort in the south of Malta, the place where I was born, where I spent most of my childhood summers, and where I spent by far the biggest part yet of my working life.

A mid-Mediterranean break in the peak of summer, plus a break from running in Belgium and the Watermolen Cup, started here in Birzebbuga with what I like to call the... 'watermelon' race. It's the St Patrick's AC Birzebbuga 10k, a tough, hot and hilly race, each edition of which ends with juicy chunks of watermelon, very much appreciated by the exhausted, heat-dehydrated athletes!

I ran this race just like a beginner, having as a joke proclaimed to a number of my friends that I would be "the man to beat", and then, foolishly, believing it myself... So I ran too fast right from the start, staying behind my good friend Lee Micallef with the intention of letting him lead the way and then overtaking him at the final sprint. Yeah, sure... perfect strategy.

I did actually stay quite close to him for a good part of the race. But it was bloody hot! It was ever so hilly, although I should have been prepared for that - it's not as if the hills have just grown higher this year, or that they might possibly have shrunk. I also hadn't slept very much the previous night, due to the Air Malta flight being two hours late.

So I wasn't in ideal shape on the day. In the long descent from Hal Far back to Birzebbuga I was already tired, and the killer hill, at the Tal-Papa housing estate, was just around the corner. Surprisingly enough, it was at the final part of this hill that I almost overtook Lee. Another long descent and he literally ran away from me, while I was only interested in finishing the whole damn thing. An old acquaintance who is currently staging quite a good comeback, Antoine Zammit, did what I should have done and what I normally do - came from behind and finished strongly. Him I also didn't see again until at the finish.

A heartbreaking characteristic of this race is that you run right in front of the finish with 2km still to go. There are already the fast finishers doing their cooling down, while you have to sweat out an additional 2km loop. I didn't slow down to a walk at that point only because it wouldn't look good at all in front of so many people. So I stuck it out beyond this point, with the intention of slowing down just as I was out of sight of the crowd. But, somehow, I kept going, and I must say that it was quite an achievement for me, on this day, to actually keep running the whole distance.

The finishing time was a respectable 44:29, only a few seconds more than my 'standard' 44 minutes for a 10k. Very good, in fact, considering all the difficulties mentioned.

Too hot to run in Belgium!

Some runs don't work out as planned.

My training run for today was supposed to be a speed 'intervals' session at the Cinquantenaire Parc, at the mid-day break close to where I work. I knew it was going to be tough, having underslept for a couple of nights, and with the weather getting sunnier and hotter. So I was already doubtful about completing this session successfully.

The first two 1000 metre efforts went reasonably well, and I registered good times in them. But the loop where I do my intervals in the park is practically the only area without any shade, and it was hot! I normally do five efforts, each consisting of 2 laps of 500m, with one lap jog recovery in between. By the end of the fourth effort, which was also completed in a good time, I was so tired that I decided to give up. I was worried of hurting myself or getting heatstroke, so I found a spot in the shade and lay down to recover.

That was it! My training run had been aborted. It rarely happens, but sometimes it does. After a few minutes I resumed the next recovery jog, and embarked on the final 1000 metre effort, but my heart wasn't in it, my legs had turned to jelly, and the effort fizzled into a jog, merging with the routine 'cool down' jog back to the shower at the office.

I reflected a bit on this partial disaster, and realised it's not a disaster at all. There are several positive elements:

1. I'm fully fit to continue training at full blast, not to mention that I consider myself to be in good form.
2. I have still run a distance of 10 km, so my training has not been interrupted at all.
3. It was almost a full regular intervals session - 4 x 1000 metres at a good pace and in blistering conditions are almost equivalent to what I normally do at a speed training session.
4. My target is long distance, the October Brussels marathon to be precise, and long distance training is proceeding perfectly well.
5. I will approach the upcoming Birżebbuġa 10k race with more caution and less overconfidence, which is not a bad idea at all.
6. I will bounce back, as I always do after a partial 'disaster'.

So I decided to list these points here and give myself a boost :-) But I have to admit that this was a novel experience. I never realised it could actually be too hot to run in Belgium!

Machelen, 9.6 km - 0h41:58 - lovely race!

If you're a motorist in Belgium, you had better watch out for the linguistic tangle that is one of the main characteristics of this country. They have this rigid policy that, unless you're in the officially bilingual Brussels, signposting is strictly monolingual. They even go out of their way to black out any writing in the "offensive" language. This policy is vigorously applied in Dutch-speaking Flanders, as a reaction to French-speakers' linguistic chauvinism, to the detriment of the very idea of Belgium as one nation, and of innocent neutrals, especially expatriates who have to learn TWO instead of one new language to integrate properly in this country. It has apparently not occurred to anyone to follow the Brussels region model of two official languages for the whole of Belgium, which would go a long way to eliminate this ridiculous state of affairs and restore national unity.

The monolingual policy is also enforced for signposting of place names. Therefore, if you're in Flanders and you wish to drive to Mons, you will only approach your desired destination by following the signs to... Bergen! If you wish to go Liège, the word disappears from all signs as you enter Flemish territory, and unless you know that the Dutch name for Liège is Luik, you'll think you've lost your way. Further examples abound. Antwerp is Anvers for the francophones. Bruxelles is Brussel for the Flemish, while Namur becomes Namen.

It would hardly be surprising, then, if a newcomer who was on the way from Brussels to the beautiful town of Mechelen were to think that they had arrived on seeing the arrows leading to a place called Machelen. Surely, this must be one of the two conflicting language versions of the town's name. How mistaken they would be! Mechelen in French is... Malines! And, in any case, they would rather die than write the word in French on their roadsigns.

In fact, apart from the close proximity and the fact that they are both Flemish towns, Machelen and Mechelen are two distinct and completely unrelated places. Mechelen I've visited several times, and I hope to go there many times again. I was curious about Machelen, but I shouldn't have been. It's situated close to the "Brussels" airport, which is actually in Zaventem, not Brussels. It's also close to a main motorway, the E19 that links Brussels to Antwerp. But, in spite of the background noise created by airplanes and the motorway traffic, it's still a quiet, peaceful, unpretentious village, with a beautiful church dedicated to Christ the King in the centre, and consisting mostly of tree-lined streets and houses surrounded by gardens, large areas of green, parks, fields, and extensive sports grounds.

The Machelen '10' km race, which forms part of the Watermolen Cup series, is the main event in an afternoon with several smaller events, including races for children, all starting and finishing in the athletics track of the Machelen sports centre.

For a few seconds at the beginning of the race, when we commenced a second lap of the track, I thought the entire race would consist of 25 laps on the track, which is of course impossible to manage with over 200 participants. In fact, midway through the second lap we left the track, and went off on an interesting, convoluted route going through grass, parkland, road pavements, around sports pavillions, public gardens and country roads that were completely devoid of traffic and surrounded by large cornfields. It was a beautiful route, and almost completely flat. I started at a moderate pace and after a kilometre or so started my usual overtaking routine, never exerting myself too much. When we re-entered the stadium I was hardly winded at all, but a look at the watch revealed that we had already done half the distance. So, it would be a double loop, quite popular around these parts, apparently.

The second loop went by smoothly enough. For me, the water station was useless as they gave us water in plastic cups. I can't drink out of a cup while running, so I just poured the water over my hair to cool down a little bit. Another look at the watch as we approached the stadium for the second and last time, and I thought that there was something wrong. The time was just 38 minutes - much less than my anticipated time for a 10k. But in fact we were almost there. A three-quarter loop on the outside of the stadium and I was on the final 100 metre stretch.

A final look at the watch at the finish showed 41:58! I haven't run a sub-42 minute 10k for ages. Surely, the distance run must have been less than 10 km. I asked someone as we left the stadium, and his GPS had measured the route at 9.63 km. That's much more realistic, for me, but it's still a very good time - just under 7 minutes per mile for 6 miles.

I thoroughly enjoyed this picturesque, quiet, and very flat route. They sent us away with a much appreciated farewell gift, too - a bottle of French red wine named Coteaux du Languedoc. Now, I wonder what they would call THAT in Flemish...

Thank you so much, Machelen, I enjoyed myself tremendously today. I hope to return next year.

Golden Oldies - 3 - The Balluta 5 Miles

The Balluta 5 Miles probably deserves pride of place as THE classic golden oldie, as far as Maltese road running is concerned.

I'm not well qualified to recount the history of this race, which I believe goes back to the 60s. But I can recount my own experience of it. For a brief spell in 1982, having taken an interest in road running, I joined the Malta University athletics club, and a guy named Paul, who was very active in athletics at that time, took me for some practice on the route of an upcoming event - the Balluta 5 Miles.

We met on a late, cool, September evening at Spinola Place, in front of the Tigullio night club, which was still in business at the time. A few minutes after we set off I realised that the route was much more than I had bargained for. The road went up to Paceville, further up to St Andrew's, and then further and further up through Tal-Ibraġ. The hill was steep, and it seemed as if it would never end. It did, in fact, finally end after we had gone past the Halland Hotel, with me panting desperately, and Paul asking me if I was OK... Well, sort of, I was still alive. The route proceeded towards the Tal-Balal crossroads, and from then on it was blissfully downhill through the main road of San Gwann, all the way to the steep "tal-Kirxa" descent to Balluta, plus a final short stretch towards Spinola place.

The Balluta 5 was the first stage of what used to be called the Winter League (nowadays the MAAA Road Running League), but it was generally far from being a wintry affair. Three in the afternoon, on the first Saturday of October is usually almost as hot as the peak of summer! But for the 1982 edition, my first-ever official road race, the 'winter' label was well deserved. It was a rainy afternoon, one of those autumn affairs where it rains buckets and Malta's roads are transformed into rivers. My race, a handful of days after the trial evening run, went reasonably well as there was no nasty surprise element of the Tal-Ibraġ hill. My most vivid recollections of that race, 27 years later, are running ankle-deep in water at the lower end of San Gwann, and crossing the finish, very pleased with myself, in penultimate place. It was my first and probably highest ever placing in a Winter League race, since on that day the entire field consisted of just about 25 competitors...

It was close to a decade later that I returned to running, which meant that I took part in this race for several more times in the 90s. But not for too long, as the event would soon be discontinued, perhaps due to traffic management problems, or maybe because of its non-standard distance, given that the other MAAA road running races were 10 km long. Pity. This was a classic race, and it deserved to keep its place in the Maltese road running calendar.