Medoc Marathon:
Saturday 12th Sept 2009

It began in the depths of last winter; an invitation to meet with Mike and Glenys to hear about their Medoc Marathon exploits. It must be good, they had done it 4 times already. We were all filled with enthusiasm, and registered on the marathon website. Places are so keenly taken that all 15 of us were ready with fingers poised over the keyboard as soon as the entries opened in February.

If you are only aware of 'Medoc' from the label on your wine bottle, that is all you need to know to understand this marathon. It starts at Pauillac, just north of Bordeaux on the Gironde estuary. The route winds through many famous chateaux, with wine-tastings associated with each drink stop.

So long as you don't take more than 6½ hours, you can drink as much as you like, and still qualify as a finisher. If your stomach can cope, there are also 'gourmet' stops, for oysters, cheese, ham, steak etc. Another feature of the run is the almost obligatory fancy dress. The theme this year was 'circus', so we became a group of strong-men, dressed in black, with leopard-skin sash and headband, and carrying 'dumb-bells' of foam and black balloons saying 50kg.

We found quiet campsites en-route, usually by a lake or river.

Most of our group flew from Southampton to Bergerac, hiring cars to get to their apartments by the lake at Hourtin-Port, about 30k from the marathon start. Six of us decided to camp, taking the ferry across the Channel. We took our campervan as usual, taking 3 days to meander through France to our campsite, about ½ mile from the apartments. The others had to leave a day later, but arrived very shortly after us.

And explored the local areas for dinner.

Our whole party met up for Thursday dinner at Hourtin-Port; 15 runners and 2 supporters went into a restaurant by the lakeside - 'A table for 17 please!' Fortunately they weren't busy and were happy to rearrange the furniture to accommodate us.

A stroll by the lake.

Pasta party

Friday evening was the marathon pasta party in Pauillac. Only Mike and Glenys, and Alec and I went, which was a shame, but the others preferred to do their own pre-marathon preparation. After aperitifs outside, with clown entertainment, the meal was basic but well organised, with an excellent cabaret artiste. Mike had a special mention (prompted by Alec) as the only Irishman there, after all the other nationalities had been cheered.

The weather for the week was hot and sunny (30°+), and only a little cooler for the weekend.

Saturday morning was a very early start - alarm set for 6:15am (=5:15am BST). We needed to get to Pauillac in time to find parking before the roads were closed. Most of the group piled into supporter Dennis's van, since he could drop them off near the start, but we had a more comfortable ride with Mike and Glenys.

The start area was so crowded we had little chance to spot the rest of the group, but just before the gun, there were our dumb-bells waving aloft. A spectacular trapeze performance from a crane, with drumming accompaniment, sent us on our way. It was too difficult to stay all together in the crowds, so we each took our most comfortable pace, stopping frequently of course for a sip of wine. There was also plenty of water, plus raisins, apricots, oranges, cake, etc.

The times recorded are really irrelevant (apart from Hilary, who did a 4h8m pb), and we were all happy to be under the 6½ hour cut-off time, and get the medal, bottle of wine, and engraved glass carafe. Official photos showed the "red-carpet" at the finish.

Sunday offered a 10k "recovery walk" through the chateaux, with more wine-tasting, which several of our group opted for. The rest of us drove 5 miles to the Atlantic beach at Hourtin-Plage for a more leisurely recovery in the sun.

Activity of an alternative type was offered by the kayaks of Paul and Lucy, and Dennis' paddle-board for all to try - though the ocean was pretty cold without a wetsuit (but still better than the ice-baths favoured by some elite athletes).

The runners: Mike and Glenys Ryan Alec and Rosemarie Osborn Colin and Carol Shaw John and Hilary Walsgrove David Fairbairn; Gill Turcan Paul Pocock; Lucy Godwin Rhona Copp; Caroline Holcombe Tony Taylor

The supporters: Dennis Mears Mike Copp