Ernest Ellis' marathon

Ernest Ellis used to play football for the Scottish team Hearts. In 1914 he "volunteered" along with ten of his teammates to serve his country in what was at that time labelled 'the greater game', which several decades later came to be known as World War 1. Seven out of eleven players, including Ellis, never made it back home and died, along with millions of other young men, fighting the war games of a handful of megalomaniacal dictators.

Close to a century later I was proudly wearing Ernest Ellis' name on my race number at the start of the 'In Flanders Fields marathon', in which every year hundreds of runners run from Nieuwpoort to Ieper (Ypres) in West Flanders, Belgium, in support of peace. Ellis and I were twinned across 9 and a half decades, and in spite of nursing a long-standing injury in my left hamstring I resolved that Ernest Ellis would run this marathon, in the region where he died.

My twelfth ever marathon had been planned for 18 months earlier, but it didn't happen then because of the injury. After a forced break of seven months, treatment involved stretching, massage and so on, plus a gradual resumption of jogging. The pain had subsided a bit, although it never went away completely. But my running distance was increasing, until I was doing long distances, with the natural consequence that I contemplated going the whole way to a full marathon.
 
Which is how I ended up at the starting line in Nieuwpoort, sporting Ellis' name, on the blustery morning of Sunday 11th September 2011. A moderate to strong wind was blowing from the SW, generally against the direction of our run. I didn't have much expectation for an exceptionally fast marathon, and this wind put an end to any such wild hope. But I did try to mitigate some of the effect of the wind by catching up with a large group of runners, who happened to be going at about my target pace of 5 minutes per kilometre, and staying behind them for shelter. It's called drafting and is illegal in cycling, but in running it's allowed so that's what I did.
 
From about the 5th to 22nd kilometre I stayed behind the group. We ran along well-kept country roads, with large fields on both sides, then next to a river, underneath bridges, entering small villages, back to fields with grazing cattle... It was so peaceful. There's something about grazing cattle and sheep that exudes such serenity. It was hard to imagine how it was, in these very same fields, during the worst fighting at the Western Front of WW1. I remember thinking: 95 years ago many thousands of young men were killing each other here. Today here we were, people from different nations running a marathon, with farm animals quietly grazing in fields on both sides. It's the way it should be!
 
We passed underneath a bridge, where the first ever poison gas attacks were carried out. Today there was a crowd of Flemish locals cheering us on. Just after the half-way mark at 21.1km, my adopted group of runners started to disband. The leaders went on at their own pace, and soon I found myself practically on my own. I realised that I couldn't possibly hope to achieve 3h30m, not this time with my precarious hamstring condition anyway, so I concentrated on advancing without too much unnecessary effort.
 
The In Flanders Fields marathon isn't one of those large mass marathons. We were about 320 finishers, and in the latter parts of the race we were spread out widely. The final stages of the marathon were characterised by long, lonely straight stretches on a smooth road next to a river. I concentrated on keeping a good rhythm, while being careful to avoid cramps by shortening my stride. By the quick, short stride method I overtook several rivals. Every so often a brief spasm of cramp in the calf would be quickly neutralised by a flattening my step. And so it went on. 36km...37... 38 ... 39... Suddenly we left the parkland and entered the town of Ieper. I have to say it was an anticlimax here - just the marshall showing me the way, and the next rival up ahead. I slogged on, turning corner after corner, another corner, a straight, another turn. It seemed like it would never end, but finally we entered the Grote Markt of Ieper, full of spectators here, including the organiser, André Mingneau, who was at the finishing line to congratulate and greet me personally by my name.

I'd made it! 3h39:10 wasn't a great finishing time, but I was still happy for achieving my 12th marathon. I'd had no choice. I was representing Ernest Ellis, and I certainly didn't want to deny him his marathon run, In Flanders Fields.

Zaventem Half Marathon - 15 August 2011 - 1h40:18

I was doing quite well up to 16km, when suddenly my steam ran out, and I barely managed to jog the final 5km. So, then, the big question is this: how will I be able to run a full 42km in less than four weeks' time?

Golden Oldies - 4 - road races in Malta that are no longer

A good while ago I embarked on a nostalgia trip, describing some road running events that used to be very popular among the Maltese running community, but that are now, sadly, only a part of history. I had started off with the summer fun runs, some more fun with the St Patrick's summer league, the Balluta 5 miles race and here, to conclude, some other events that are no longer part of the Maltese running calender. So, here goes...

The Paola Half Marathon

I have fond memories of this short-lived 'sister' of the Malta International Challenge Marathon, for the simple reason that here I obtained my best time ever at a half marathon - exactly 1h30:00 (1h29:59 on my watch).

The Paola half marathon used to be held on a Sunday morning in mid-May. The start was at Paola Square, and the route went through Santa Luċija, Luqa, all the way through Ħal Far to Birżebbuġa, Marsaxlokk and up towards Bir id-Deheb, along the Tal-Barrani Road and back into Paola.

It was just my type of route, but for some reason the event did not gain in popularity. Perhaps the running calendar had already grown saturated, or athletes didn't like the idea of a long distance race in May, when the temperature's already considerably hot in Malta, especially for this type of long distance. Maybe there were complicated traffic considerations, financial viability... whatever. Too bad, because I used to like this race.

The Zurrieq 10 miles

A well-established fixture of the Maltese road running calendar is the Zurrieq half marathon in November. This is an offshoot of an earlier race that was very popular, and used to be held in October: the Zurrieq 10 miles. I remember gaining a couple of very good times in this event. Of course, in those sub-40-years-old times, most of my times used to be very good compared to what I'm achieving as a get ever closer to 50... (goodness, even writing it feels so odd, I can't bear even to look at the number).

Perhaps, this was a bit too close to the end of summer, so runners were still unprepared for a relatively long distance, following the summer break. October in Malta is for all intents and purposes still part of summer, and therefor hot. In all honesty, I've forgotten the route of this race. I have to look up my old running diaries, a couple of thousand kilometres away, to get a few clues. Dear, oh dear. Time is flying, and memories are fading...

The Thomas Cook Charity 6

The route of this event I remember very well, as it was very straightforward. We used to start at Għar id-Dud in Sliema, go to Qui-si-sana, towards Tigne' (this was before they dug the whole thing out) and along the coast towards the Ferries, along the Strand, towards Ta' Xbiex, always following the coast, up to the then Manhattan, now Mamma Mia, Restaurant, and back. Going up back into Tigne', we entered inside toward the Tigne' tower (I don't know if this exists at all anymore), went round it and kept on towards Qui-si-sana and on to the finish at Għar id-Dud.

Here I used to achieve some incredible timings, including a memorable 38 minutes for six miles on one occasion. I was young, and the course was flat... One image that is still sharp in my memory is my good friend Victor's grimace as he ran out of Tigne', while I was still entering in there, before embarking on the final sprint towards Għar id-Dud. It was my same memorable 38-minute six miler, and Victor beat me on that day by close to one minute!

The Birkirkara 10k

On 24 June, or thereabouts, the St Joseph institute or something like that in Birkirkara used to organise a 10km race, in the evening. These would, of course, be held in hot weather, a fact that has some bearing on what happened to me on one occasion.

It was an interesting route, but also very tough for a good part of the way. It would start from next to the institute, close to the Mitħna ta' Birkirkara. We would go up to the Birkirkara bypass, then along that road and eventually taking the left turn into San Ġwann industrial estate. Up till there the route was mostly uphill, but at the industrial estate the road becomes steeper, always uphill. We would go up to the San Ġwann bypass, and on to the Tal-Balal road (even further up) towards Naxxar.

You can imagine how we would be feeling as we approached Naxxar. But, from then on, it was downhill all the way. It was down from the Naxxar church towards the Mercedes showroom. And further down through the main road to Lija, back towards the start. It was a really fast finish.

In my second participation it was particularly hot. As we puffed our way up Tal-Balal road I saw a small crowd on the side of the road, and with a shock realised there was a lady athlete who had fainted. The tough hills and the heat had gotten the better of her. I couldn't just go on and ignore her, so I stopped to help. Except that there wasn't much I could do. Someone was wetting her face and so on, and eventually she recovered. I resumed my run, but finished very late because of the stoppage.

They used to give a prize to the most improved athlete, comparing times between successive editions. The following year I did the race at my normal pace, without any stoppages (there was no one lying unconscious at the roadside in that edition), and lo and behold... I was the third best improved athlete, and received a trophy for it!

So, did I deserve a medal for an act of kindness in sport when I stopped to help a fellow athlete in distress? Or should I be censored for accepting a prize on not exactly the fairest of premises?

This race was eventually taken over by the Birkirkara local council, changed route, distance and date several times, and I believe has now morphed into a series of 5k races, although I stand to be corrected. Slowly, but surely, I'm losing track of what's happening in the homeland. It's getting on to seven years since I left, there are new events, and so many new runners that nowadays I almost feel like a stranger when I run in an event there...

Machelen 9.8km - 24 June 2011 - 0h43:53

The main feature of this edition was the heat. The temperature was in the high 20s, the sun was shining bright, and hot!

The warming up phase included the usual routine for hot weather racing - drinking lots of water and pouring some more on top of my head. I seem to have learned the lesson from Huldenberg very well, because after the Sterrebeek 16k I again managed to get the race just right - not too fast in the beginning, and chasing the next runner ahead during the second half. It's actually easier when a race consists of two repeated loops, because in the second part you know exactly what to expect.

Well, 'easier' doesn't really describe today's race. This being a relatively short distance, the pace is inevitably faster, and more so since it's almost completely flat all the way. Again, I managed to hold on to my position in the final sprint - I seem to be getting good at this! Besides which, I overtook a good number of rivals and can't recall anyone overtaking me after the initial few minutes of settling down. It was no surprise that I ended up running at the fastest pace in this year's series.

At a price... soon after crossing the finish I simply rolled onto the ground and lay there full length, gasping for breath. But I wasn't alone in this. It really was a hot, gruelling effort!

Before we went home, all finishers received a deserved prize for our efforts - a bottle of Farnese, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo d.o.c. - denominazione di origine controllata... Cheers!

A great race!

Sterrebeek Scottloop - 15,6km - Sunday 12 June 2011 - 1h12:07

I doubt if I could have run this even one second faster. It's the first time, post-injury, that I've run a race faster than on a previous occasion. Of course, one important reason was that the previous occasion in November 2009 the weather conditions were much worse - the ground was slippery and there was a strong wind that in some parts slowed me down almost to walking pace.

This time the conditions were practically ideal - sunshine, 16 C or so and a fresh breeze. The route... is what it is. It's mostly in the countryside along paved paths surrounded by large fields, very picturesque. Then, almost inevitably in Belgium, you hit the unpaved paths. One, in particular, was so tricky. It was a lane in between fields consisting of a higher strip in the middle covered by vegetation, and two lower narrow strips on the sides, mostly soil or gravel, that had been formed over the years by the wheels of farming vehicles. You need to stay behind the runner in front of you, or switch 'lanes' to overtake, but do it fast as the space is narrow. Sometimes you need to switch simply because the ground gets too uneven. I do hate this type of terrain! You can't run properly, you can't overtake properly, you feel 'obliged' to keep up the pace not to hold back runners behind you, and you risk getting injured. Later there was second rough stretch, not as long as the first, which even had a warning sign indicating treacherous ground caused by exposed roots.

Typically for Belgium, the race consists of two loops, which is not such a bad thing since at the half way mark you then know exactly what to expect in the second part. It was at the half way point that a young lady passed me. Nothing unusual so far, it happens (too) many times. But it was the point where I had planned to speed up the pace, which pace, although cautious so far, had not been leisurely at all. After a few minutes I caught up with her and overtook her again. A few more minutes, and I started to feel the effects of the strong pace. But since in my previous race I had had to stop running and walk for a bit, giving up this time was absolutely out of the question. I simply had to go on running. I took heart from the fact that I was still overtaking other runners, which could only mean that I wasn't slowing down in spite of feeling tired.

When the second stretch of treacherous ground was over in the second loop we were getting close to the finish. Now it was just one final kilometre of flat ground and proper road surface. Time to prepare for the final sprint! I heard the sound of hard breathing getting louder behind me (my own breathing wasn't too relaxed either...) and without looking I was sure who it was. She wasn't prepared to give up without a fight, but then neither was I. I lengthened the pace and ran flat out, especially after the final bend.

Made it! I've recovered the ability to win a final sprint! It was so competitive that we had to be physically stopped at the finishing line to allow for barcode scanning for the official time.

Thank you for a great race, young lady. Thank you Sterrebeek. I look forward to coming back next year.

Running like a baby

Scott2Run: Felix Sohieloop, Hoeilaart 11.2 km - Friday 6 May - 0h51:00

Back to one of my favourite races, after two absences due to a cold and then my injury. This year I'm quite sure that the distance was slightly longer - we ran a wider path in the wooded patch in Groenendaal, plus a strange detour into a carwash station on the way back to the sports centre. It may be part of the reason why I finished close to 3 minutes later than my last participation in 2009. The main reason, of course, is that I've slowed down somewhat due to not being able to run normally because of the not-completely-healed pain in my hamstring, and due to another two years of inexorable deterioration as I grow older... cheery thought...

This is one of the runs where I really run flat out, and this edition was no exception. Pity it starts so late, at 8pm. Even in the first loop it's already quite dark under the thick foliage in Groenendaal. In the second loop it's worse, and with my short eyesight and the pain in my left buttock with each step, the uneven ground at the steep uphill narrow footpath was really treacherous.

There were no incidents, however. I raced in and all-in-all finished in a decent time of exactly 51 minutes - exhausted!

Scott2Run: Huldenberg 10.7 km - Sunday 15 May - 0h49:32

I should have known, in fact I did know, that Huldenberg lies in a hilly area, and any race starting here would involve a lot of going up and down hills. But I was more concerned with achieving a good placing, and avoiding getting bogged down in a crowded start as has been happening in my recent races.

So I sprang enthusiastically into action from the start, forging a path for myself immediately up a long uphill stretch that I had once done on my mountainbike. After the first 10 minutes I had already expended too much reserves, and yet I kept up the pace. We then dropped downhill, no problem here, and back into the valley. It became clearer that this wasn't going to be the usual double loop, so popular in these areas, so the remaining 5 km were unknown to me - not a good omen. We were running along footpaths in the forest, with brooks and streams and so on, really beautiful. I should go exploring the area again.

I sensed a steep hill right round the corner, so to speak, and sure enough... there it was, going up and then curving further up... I suddenly stopped. It happens sometimes in my races. I walked uphill while others jogged past - a good few. I walked on for what must have been close to 5 minutes, until I approached the top of the hill. I had recovered my breath to be able to run, and even race, again.

I wonder what went on through the minds of those who had gone past me, a spent force trudging uphill, when this same spent force overtook them once again at the top of the hill and beyond :-) After a short while we started a sharp downhill, really fast and competitive. The injury in my hamstring was shouting out loud now, with each step, but I didn't care anymore and just kept racing.

It's a good thing, in fact, that I resumed racing in spite of having slowed down to a walk. I had run so fast in the first stage of the race, and probably also in the last bit, that it almost made up for the time lost while walking. The finishing time was a quite decent 0h49:32, and the fact that there were not so many participants in this race resulted in a high number of points for me in the Scott2Run general classification.

Now that I know the route I won't repeat the same mistake if, hopefully, I give it another try next year. My young son Gianluca likes to say, when I play badly on a computer game, that Papa is playing like a baby. At Huldenberg I made the classic mistake so common for beginners, that of starting too fast. Gianluca would be right to say that I ran like a baby.

Perk 10k - 17 April 2011 - 0:45:11

It was rather chilly this morning at the extensive sports grounds on the outskirts of Perk, a few kilometres north east of Brussels.

This region, close to the Zaventem international airport, is very flat and in fact the sports grounds consist of large areas of grass, mostly football pitches next to each other, with a clubhouse close to the entrance from the street. This street leads further out into the flat countryside, towards another obscure Flemish village. Across the street from the sports centre is a wooded park, the dominant feature of which is a castle.

The race consisted of three loops inside the park, followed by a dash towards the sports centre and a rather large final loop there. As usual, in the beginning, the running was a bit crowded, the path being no more than 3 metres wide or so. It got worse, and for a good part of a whole kilometre we had to run in Indian file, unable to overtake, unless we wanted to risk injury on the uneven, muddy ground hidden by a thick layer of fallen leaves mixed with tall grass.

Considering that for three longish stretches I couldn't do any overtaking - going faster in the other bits doesn't quite make up for it - I can say that my final time of 45 minutes and a few seconds was a good performance. In my pre-injury post-40 years of age era my standard good time for a 10k was 44 minutes. I'm back in 13 point something km/h territory again, and my recovering hamstring only 'protested' at two particular spots in the triple loop, where it was so muddy we had to waddle through like penguins.

Silly route. But a good race for me.

Which marathon in October 2011?

Which marathon in October 2011?

Well, for someone being based so close to the Belgian capital, Brussels on Sunday 2 October 2011 is the obvious choice! I've done this marathon twice, and I consider it to be quite a pleasant event.

The marathon starts in a park close to where the main offices of the EU institutions, the much maligned "Brussels" that dictates everything, are situated. The start takes you straight into the heart of the EU quarters (and for good measure participants go past it again at the 39th kilometre). After a brief foray into the centre of the city, skirting around the king's palace, the route goes out of the centre into greener pastures, eventually leaving the city to enter Tervuren, which is a Flemish town just outside of Brussels. A brief tour of the beautiful Tervuren park is followed by a long straight haul that takes the runners back towards the city. The route goes back through the starting point at 39 km, and leads on towards the heart of Brussels, the famous Grand Place.

I like this route, and I could even consider doing it again, even though... it's considerably hilly, with rather a tough hill of about 1 mile in length at the half way mark, and another similar hill at exactly the point where runners risk hitting the dreaded "wall", at 33 km. However, on both occasions when I ran this marathon I can't say I found it particularly hard to run up these hills.

What I DID find very hard, after the end of my second marathon here, was having to stumble on, on dead tired legs, for what seemed an eternity until I could get to where they had taken our clothes bags. It was pure torture! If you do choose Brussels for your marathon in October, and I would recommend it because it's quite fun, not too crowded and with lovely route, I suggest you have someone waiting for you at the Grand Place. My dear wife did exactly that back in 2007 when I did my memorable first Brussels marathon.

If you think Brussels is too boring and grey (which it isn't, although I admit it's not the most exotic place on earth), a good idea for a marathon in October 2011 would be the Lago di Garda in Italy. It runs for three quarters of the perimeter of the lake, along the bank of the lake. With the backdrop of the mountains on all sides, this must surely be a spectacular marathon. And it's not even a hilly affair, for the profile is very nearly flat - to be expected since most of the marathon runs close to the water's edge. The date of the Lake Garda Marathon will be Sunday 9 October 2011. Interesting prospect!

Staying in Italy, two weeks later, another majestic marathon is on offer, the Venice marathon. This, too, has quite a flat profile, starting from a small town outside of Venice and following a scenic countryside route before entering the famous historic city itself. It's only the last 4 km that are actually inside Venice, and here you'll have to cross a few bridges - it's the very nature of the place. They provide ramps so (they say) it's not a problem for the runners. The finish is in the world famous Piazza San Marco, hoping that it's not flooded on the day. It's also an interesting prospect, although at 85 euro or even 100 euro for late comers, well, it's a bit on the expensive side...

Internationally, October is a very busy month for marathons. We are literally spoilt for choice, in most parts of the planet. But I guess I'll probably end up doing the Brussels marathon after all. Boring, disappointing, least exotic choice. It's so convenient to get into the car from home and be at the start in 20 minutes!

Vilvoorde Sparta Parkloop 12 km - 0:55:40 - 26 March 2011

To my mind, Vilvoorde is best known as the locality that provides the third letter in the Belgian political issue known as BHV - Brussel/Hal/Vilvoorde. It's an extremely complicated regional argument involving court jurisdictions, linguistic rights, and whether you have the right to vote to Flemish or Francophonic parties. In real life, it's a suburb lying to the north of Brussels, and today I discovered it lies underneath the high-level overpass that is part of the northern section of the Brussels ring road.

They have a sports centre named Sparta Vilvoorde at the outskirts of the locality, right next to the river that flows into Brussels. It's a well-kept football pitch with running track at the edge of a rather extensive park, and this is where the Sparta Parkloop was held.

There was a notice close to the registration that gave very accurate data about the course - 411 metres + two loops of 5700 metres + 112 metres for a total distance of 11.923 km - although it's very likely that in this case theory and practise to not exactly coincide, as I'll explain further on... There was also an altitude chart, where it was clearly shown that here, too, runners would need to climb a good bit, come back down and go back up for the second loop.

The run was as tough as expected. I adopted the same race strategy as the previous week at the Tervuren Furaloop 16 km - a moderate pace in the first half followed by a stronger second half where I would overtake as many rivals as possible. I was quite anxious about how my leg muscles, especially my not-yet-healed left hamstring, would react to two strong efforts in the space of one week. During the race it felt as normal as I've become used to expect, and in fact in the second loop my main problem was that I felt tired due to the previous week's strong effort, not because of any recurring injury. In the final downhill, when I was trying to go really fast, I still ended up being overtaken by several others. Too bad. I'm not doing any fast interval training, so I'm still unable to push hard and sprint at the end of a race. Besides, it certainly wasn't worth the while to risk getting injured again. Running fast down a twisting narrow path would be simply asking for trouble.

For the time being, I'm more than satisfied with having achieved two races, with seemingly no lasting harmful effect, at a respectable though still substandard (compared to my standard) pace. There's still a lot of time to achieve a better pace. Here I ran the "11923 metres" in 0:55:40. Quite OK, and slightly faster than the previous week... except that I have strong doubts about the distance. In some sections the painted arrows followed zigzagged gravel paths, but everyone was running straight on the grass cutting across the zigzags. I would have been a fool not to follow suit!

Scott2Run (1) - Furaloop 16 km - 20 March 2011 - 1h15:43

At long last, back to real racing for the first time since more than 13 months.

It's the start of a brand new Scott2Run season here in Flemish Brabant, and the first of the series was a 10 miler starting and finishing in Tervuren today afternoon. We had close to perfect weather for the event, mostly sunny, not too cold at around 13 degrees, no wind at all. The sports complex area was teeming with youngsters and not-so-youngsters enjoying a lovely March Sunday afternoon, including of course hundreds of runners eager to debut in this second edition of the Scott2Run competition, which from 2010 has replaced the old Watermolen Cup.

The Furaloop 16 km is not a walk in the park! (Of course not, silly, it's a run in the forest...). Indeed. After a kilometre or so of running in residential streets, the route heads straight into the Foret de Soignes. I had done some research about the event, and I knew that it's quite a hilly affair. The run is almost entirely along forest paths, luckily wide enough for comfortable overtaking, on good gravelly ground that's not muddy at all.

I wanted to be careful to avoid the error of going too fast in the beginning. I'm still recovering my best form, the distance is rather lengthy, and after 13 months without any racing I'm a bit of a "beginner" - and beginners' most common mistake is that of being carried away and using up too much energy in the first half of a run, to end up exhausted in the second half.

So I chose an old tactic of mine, going at a moderate pace up to the midpoint, generally keeping my position and if necessary overtaking anyone who seems too slow, and then increasing the pace for the second half of the race. Many years ago I overheard an old running friend of mine (hello Tony Dimech, who knows, maybe you'll get to read this some day...) remark to his companion as I overtook them in the second part of a race in Malta, 'There he goes switching on his turbo engine'. I liked that, and 15 years later it's the same expression that I keep in mind when thinking of accelerating during the second half of a race.

The tactic worked, on the whole. It was a good thing that I had known in advance about the hilly nature of the route, so I wasn't taken by surprise there. It was quite satisfying that, although I have hardly done any hills at all during training for my comeback, I held my own very well in the (relatively mild) uphill stretches. It felt like it's always done during races. Fantastic! And after passing the 8km marker I did, indeed, switch on the "turbo engine". I started overtaking rivals. As I approached each successive "victim" I would say to myself, this guy normally ends up behind me in races (since I'm running slower than my standard pace), so he's no super runner, I can beat him. And beat them I did, quite a few of them.

It came to a point that I had moved up the field to reach other runners who were running at a pace that I couldn't beat. So during the last 3 km, when my legs started to tire out, I had to settle for maintaining my position, an objective that was, also, largely successful. The hamstring injury, which has still not healed completely, was beginning to make itself felt, and in certain uphill stretches now it was also affecting my gait.

The final couple of kilometres, back in built-up streets, I had become tired, but I managed to keep my pace nonetheless. True, I was overtaken by two or three rivals, but kept more or less the same distance from a fellow in blue who I had been following for a good while. I haven't been doing any speedwork involving intervals yet, so I lack the punch to carry out a sprint in the final run-up. It seemed like it was never going to end! But end it did, at a very respectable 1h15:43. Very good, considering the long stop due to injury and the fact that I still have to recover and regain my best form.

Let's just wait for the consequences in my hamstring the next few days. Hopefully, it should be OK.

I'M BACK "IN THE RUNNING"!

Au revoir, Maroc!

At a few minutes past 6 in the morning, I would get out of the bed in my hotel room, and 'sneak' out through the pool area into the wide promenade that runs along the sandy coastline of Agadir in Morocco.

It would still be dark, and surprisingly cold. The promenade is lit during the night by floodlights. You can see seagulls flying around in their light. There's a permanent noise created by waves coming in from the Atlantic ocean and breaking up on the beach. Far away perched on top of a hill lie the ruins of the old kasbah that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1960. On the slope going up the hill, huge, well-lit Arabic lettering proclaims, as a talisman against any further disaster, the three entities that are most dear to Moroccans: "God, the King, the Country".

This was the setting for early morning runs that I used to do when I spent a few splendidly wonderful days in Agadir with my family. I made it a point to run almost everyday, to make up a bit for much too many calories that I was consuming at the hotel. I have to say the strategy worked well, as I hardly gained any weight at all during my stay there...

The unusual ambience gave rise to a couple of memorable runs. I wasn't alone. Morocco is a bountiful haven of long distance runners, and Agadir has its good share of afacionados. That's apart from many foreign visitors who like me wanted to keep up their training schedule while on holiday.

The promenade runs for several kilometres along the seashore. I would run all the way towards the yacht marina, along the quays for the marina, up to a point where it was impossible to go any further, and turn back. Sunset and sunrise are very rapid affairs close to the tropics, with hardly any twilight to speak of, so even though I would start my 10km run in pitch darkness, on my way back the lights would be switched off, the road clearly visible, and by the time I reached the hotel the sun would already have come up.

Some stretching, good morning to the guard sitting at the beach front entrance to the hotel, a quick shower, breakfast, and another enjoyable day exploring this region of Morocco.

Au revoir, Maroc!

Les Hivernales de Boitsfort 20km - 6 February 2011 - 1h47m plus something

One year exactly after my last competitive event, following a long injury saga, I managed a fourth successive participation in Les Hivernales de Boitsfort - not bad, considering I've only been in Belgium for six years...

I was still not ready to race, so I went in with the intention of doing my standard weekend long run here, at a slow pace. In the beginning it was in fact slower than I had bargained for, having placed myself too far back from the starting line, so much that the first three kilometres took up no less than 18 minutes. At that rate I would take up close to 2 hours! OK, the finishing time wasn't important, but I still wanted to do a decent run, which is why I increased the pace to make up a bit for lost time.

I ended up doing my usual routine of trying to catch up with and overtake a long succession of runners. It was almost like a typical long distance race, and even though the pace was slow by my normal standards (and I certainly hope to achieve better speeds as I recover my fitness), I rediscovered the thrill of racing for a long distance.

The pain in my thigh? I was aware of it all the time. I'm always aware of it whenever I run now, but it's not really bad. There was a point close to the end of the run, with a sharp, fast downhill stretch on uneven ground where I became a bit scared of losing my footing, but otherwise I was OK.

This was my longest run after the injury. For most of it I ran faster than training pace, and my concern was whether I would suffer any consequences. Well, I'm happy to note that two days later I have done my normal 10km weekly run, with the good old tendonitis ticking away vaguely exactly as I've become used to it - not any better, but certainly no worse than before.

I may even recover sufficiently to race properly one day.

Which marathon in September 2011?

Now it really looks as if I may recover completely from the injury that has been holding me back from proper running for close to a year. In which case, a marathon in September would be quite a realistic possibility. Which marathon?

A quick browse reveals that I'm quite spoilt for choice, but... wherever I choose I'll need to travel. I haven't found any marathon in Belgium planned for September 2011. But wait a second... I had an idea there was one somewhere in Oostende. Let's have a look... Of course, the 'In Flanders Fields' marathon! I've been eying this ever since relocating to Belgium, and this would be the ideal occasion to do it.

Ever since I read Ben Elton's 'The First Casualty', set in the midst of World War I, I've wanted to visit Ieper (Ypres in French, or Wipers as the English soldiers used to pronounce it), which has become a sort of shrine for the mass of humanity that fell victim to that utter folly. In Flanders fields is where countless thousands of soldiers from both sides faced each other behind trenches, living in squalid conditions, periodically having a suicidal go at enemy lines, in full sight of enemy fire, and falling down like flies. Never again, one would have thought. Yeah, right.

I feel strongly about war, and now that I live in Belgium Ieper is a must-go place for me. The possibility of a marathon there, at exactly the time when I should be ready for one, makes it even more a must-participate event. The reviews in marathonguide.com are also very good, so the 'In Flanders Fields' marathon seems to be the people's choice.

There are a couple of disadvantages. A marathon in September means that I need to do several three-hour runs, and one 3h15 run, right in the peak of summer in August... I would probably need to give up the Zaventem half marathon, to which I have been looking forward. But one needs to look at the positive side. Being able to choose between a marathon and a half marathon would be a luxury, considering that for several months last year I was fearing having to give up running altogether!

Of course, it's nowhere as exotic as the Petra marathon (Jordan, 9 September), or Maui (Hawaii). Neither is it a big time event like Berlin (25 September - a tour of this major city, along with another circa 40,000 participants). I could choose to go to Vilnius (Lithuania), Tallinn (Estonia), Stockholm, Odense in Denmark, Oslo, Warsaw. There are local marathons in places like Wolverhampton (England) or Dingle (Ireland). The choice is really quite enormous. There's a Bacchus marathon in Surrey, England, with "voluntary" sampling of wines along the route (health warning: alcohol dehydrates the body...).

I could be in the mood for going uphill all the way, except for (mercifully) the very last kilometre, and do the Jungfrau marathon starting in Interlaken, Switzerland (a beautiful place, by the way). Well, when I say "do the Jungfrau marathon", I should really say try, and fail, to do the Jungrau marathon: a 2,000 metre rise is not for ordinary mortals.

One never knows, of course, what circumstances and opportunities may arise. Maybe I'll settle for the most straightforward possibility of a marathon around this period, after all - boring old Brussels. But that comes in the following month, October, and in my next post in the series "Which marathon".