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!