June.To run or not to run?

[Bierzo Baggie]

There was no plan in the 4 months preceeding this Sunday’s marathon. The pattern that finally emerged is a sort of inverse plan. I register my runs according to time, not distance but supposing I run 5 minute kms on average I can attain some approximate distances.

Distance and number of runs.
5-7 kms 11
8-10 kms 17
11-13 kms 4
14-19 kms 4
20-25 kms 2
4 months and a total of 38 runs. Not an awful lot but I did miss over a month in the final stages of Rosana’s pregnancy.

So, on Sunday I’m running a marathon. If it hadn’t been for “runningcommentary” I probably wouldn’t have bothered. Keeping a running diary and reading the experiences of others has motivated me at a time when to be honest, I hadn’t expected to be running at all. And it has been possible to combine “training” with work (I run a small language school here in Ponferrada) and baby responsibilities. The secret has been in not following a plan, not taking anything for granted and in recognizing and seizing the appropriate moment to go out for a run, albeit for only 25 minutes. I think the overall balance has been positive. It’s helped me to relax and to put things in perspective during what were the most important two months of our lives. Rosana has also been very understanding and hopefully when I pass our flat at the 25 km drinks station I’ll be able to give baby Lara a kiss (I’m always one for cheesy gestures) before the last section...La Martina, Dehesas, Villaverde, Villadepalos, Toral de los Vados.
Thanks guys, this one is for Lara and Rosana (cheesier and cheesier) but it’s also for you lot (explosion of Cheddar, Brie, Camembert, Red Leicester, Cabrales....) Let’s see if I get round. The longest I’ve run since Toral last year has been about 14 miles and if I do pack it in at the symbolic 25 km point, well, it doesn’t really matter. I’ve always been more interested in the journey than in the destination. And the journey has been fun.

[El Gordo]

So, on Sunday I’m running a marathon. If it hadn’t been for “runningcommentary” I probably wouldn’t have bothered. Keeping a running diary and reading the experiences of others has motivated me at a time when to be honest, I hadn’t expected to be running at all.

But that's the point, BB..... whether it's here or on any other forum, the idea is that a running community supports and encourages and inspires its members.

Far from sounding 'cheesey' the tributes to your wife and new daughter are very touching, and I'm sure they'll be incredibly proud of you as you glide across the finishing line. All of us here will be wishing your new family well, and will be anxiously waiting for Brian (RB)'s and your race reports to arrive.

Actually, I don't care about the race, it's the stuff about the food and the extraordinary characters I want to hear about.

Seriously chaps, have a good race. We'll all be thinking about you on Sunday morning.

[Riazor Blue]

Actually, I don't care about the race, it's the stuff about the food and the extraordinary characters I want to hear about.

You'll be hearing about botillo next week then. (Yum)

Simon, I imagine that we'll arrive somewhere around 7 pm,I'll give you a call. Don't worry about cheesiness, I'll be waving like a nutter if Rosana & Lara are on the balcony aswell !!!

[Nigel]

Unfortunately, I must admit to finding a big problem with all this cheesiness.

In particular, why the absence of local produce from your list, Simon ?

In my opinion, it's always been hard to beat a fine Spanish cheese like Manchego, and Cantabrian Cabrales is quite simply a queso incomparable.

So, if there's still space left for them on that balcony, then I think that they should be afforded a place of honour without further delay. Thank you.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Now that's a really smelly cheese...

[Bierzo Baggie]

I came (to Toral), I saw, I didn’t actually conquer, but at least I survived.

It all started on Saturday afternoon when we met Brian and Bea in Toral de los Vados to collect the race numbers. Toral is one of the ugliest villages in Bierzo and is dominated by the huge Cosmos cement factory on one side of town and its feeder quarries on the other. Normally it’s quite dead on a Saturday afternoon but today there is a marked proliferation of lean, skeletal individuals wearing marathon t-shirts and clutching goodie bags. We collect ours which contain a bottle of wine and a jar of pears. They also contain the race medal. Does this mean I don’t have to run now? But we all know it’s not that simple.

We then retired to a little café terrace opposite the railway station. They clearly knew that there were Brits in town as the barmaid was lining up pint glasses on the counter and seemed somewhat disappointed when we ordered dinky little beers which only half filled our ale jugs. Then we chatted about this and that and baby Lara was soon hypnotized by Brian’s dulcet Croyden tones.

Just before leaving we met a fellow called Baltazar (didn’t he carry the myrrh?...and what the f*** is myrrh incidently?). Well this wise man is carrying a plastic bag with a jar of pears. Just like us. Baltazar works at Cosmos and is the only athlete from the village running tomorrow. He filled me in with a little race history. This is the 21st edition of the marathon which was originally the idea of a cultural association more associated with staging theatre than sports events. Apparently somebody said “hey, let’s organize a marathon!”. And they did. 13 people turned up. But it carried on year after year and eventually it flourished. Baltazar followed the star (sorry!) and was the organizer for 10 years until 1998 which was the first time I ran here.By then there were over 400 competitors, including a couple of top Kenyans and a Portuguese lady called Manuela Machado who was world champion at the time. An outstanding success story, all the more so when you consider that Toral is an otherwise sleepy little village of 2000 inhabitants.

Enough preambling....to the race.

It’s 7:45am or something like that. There are lithe, tanned athletes wherever you look, stretching, jumping and psyching each other out with narrow, moody eyes. Unsuccessfully I try to find Brian amongst them. Just as I begin to wonder if he’d overslept I catch sight of a tall englishman with long socks propping up the bar in the café we’d gone to on Saturday. The obligatory photo follows and soon enough we’re both on the start line along with 250 or so other runners waiting for the off. There are athletes from all over Spain and a good local turnout from the Bierzo region. I spot Miguel the prof, Luis the footie player, Juan Ca from Palencia, Chus Alonso (one of the hot favourites), the mighty Basurko, Pinilla the miner and others. Very few lady runners although as always there is Raquel Dos Santos, the Brazilian wife of Jacinto the 100km runner, adding a bit more international flavour to the proceedings. Jacinto ultra-man is a spectator this year and so is Rodrigo Gavela (ex Spanish record holder).

The race begins. Accompany Brian for the first km but he soon pulls away and his long white socks become an increasingly distant reference point bobbing up and down on the horizon. Try to average 5 minute kms and actually go a little faster than this passing through the half marathon point in just under 1:40. So far, so good. But from this point onwards I start to slow down. No aches and pains. No niggles or physical discomfort. Just an ever increasing emptiness, leaden legs and a terrible hunger. I think I’ve just run out of gas....

I tried to kid myself that I was going to pack it in at 25kms. If I hadn’t have kidded myself that I was going to pack it in at 25kms I think I would have probably packed it in at 25kms. Does that make sense? I’m a great sports psychologist me. Anyway, Rosana and baby were there at the next drinks station and yes, I did it. I kissed the baby. Then I kissed Rosana. And then I kissed the baby again. And then... I carried on.

The ploy now was to find people to run with who were plodding along like me. Ran for a while with a fellow from Toledo and then with a chap from Jerez who must have been carrying more than 100kgs on his bulky frame. But things weren’t going to get any better and at 30km I walked. At 35kms I walked some more and at 40kms I gave up running altogether. Tried to walk at a brisk pace and managed a final run around the athletics track for the last 300 metres. It’s not exactly the Almeria stadium but the grandstand is full of people and the cheer you get on crossing the finish line is sweet. Simply finishing is even sweeter. Spotted Brian almost immediately and he seemed chuffed to bits with his 3 hours 13 minutes. An excellent time. I was just happy to get round although it had taken me half an hour longer. Chomped away at a water melon, spoke to Pedro lumberjack (injured and not running today) and then sat with Bea up in the grandstand. They announced on the loudspeaker that the last runner was in the village of Dehesas and there was no doubt that everybody was going to wait for him. They did and I’m told that he was warmly applauded and was awarded a splendid ornamental tortoise.

So there it is. This will be my only marathon this year and it was great to take part. It was also great to finish although for the last 12kms I was a “dead man walking”. As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions I find road running a nasty business, but the atmosphere of the races, the people and the anecdotes you accumulate during the day make it all worthwhile. The race is a “fiesta” of running and rather than the culmination of months of training I try to see it all as part of a greater journey, a new point of departure rather than a destination in itself. Or perhaps it’s just that I don’t like plans. Ho hum.

RACE STATISTICS
Toral de los Vados Marathon 2005

First Male Athlete: Elias Dominguez (Vigo) 2:27:01
First Female Athlete: Esther Pérez (Toledo) 3:41:18
First Athlete with Long socks: Brian Carreau (Croydon) 3:13
First Brit with glasses: Simon Allen (Bierzo Baggie) 3:44

Starters 255
Finishers 208
Final anecdote: The mighty Basurko ran the last kilometre pushing his baby daughter in a pushchair and still finished in 2:55.

[Antonio247]

Congratulations, Simon and Brian. Wonderful report. It made me feel the toughness of a marathon. I wish I could have been there even if it meant to finish the last one in five hours or more.

Regards

Antonio

[El Gordo]

3:44? 3:13?

Well done guys, great performances.

Enjoyed the report BB, thank you. You beat my PB by about 85 minutes, so don't feel too bad about it.

As always, it's the cultural diversity that I like to hear about. Not just the characters, but the ornamental tortoise for the last finisher, and the bottle of wine and jar of pears in the goods bags. I like those ideas....

[Nigel]

Well done to both of you on an excellent run. It is quite something to complete a marathon on limited preparation and with minimal sleep, too.

And if that time included a lot of walking, then you must be a very quick walker indeed, Simon !

[Riazor Blue]

Well done again BB, good to see you and Rosana again too. Little Lara is a sweetheart aswell, going to be a hurdler or high jumper later on.

You didn't miss much at the lunch this year, it was held outside and there were far too many tables so that everybody was spread out, it missed the intimacy of that vast sports hall. The food was good though, as was the wine. well, ok, the wine would have been better with a touch of lemonade but alcohol tastes sooooo good after all those kilometers.

I got sofrito de tomate in my bag, perfect for pasta sauces. Got the pears last year, sadly they are still in the cupboard.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Thanks for all your comments and encouragement. Andy's pub is a great little place with lots of good running and writing on draught and long may it continue.... Cheers!

[El Gordo]

Andy's pub is a great little place with lots of good running and writing on draught.... Cheers!

Hey, I like that description. I might steal it.