My oh my....we're in July.

[Bierzo Baggie]

There are only two ways to avoid the heat these days. You either run very early or you run very late. Miguel the mushroom picker prefers the latter option. Miguel MP is an occasional runner and earns his nickname from his ability to identify and cook up to a dozen different species of edible mushrooms (a potentially dangerous hobby, mark my words). He knows all their names in Latin as well. He’s more of a walker than a runner, but a couple of years ago I was able to persuade him to run a marathon with me. If anybody fancies doing a marathon in Spain one day then I heartily recommend the Valtiendas nocturnal marathon as probably the most enjoyable. It’s the only one you’ll find run in August and forms part of the fiestas of Valtiendas, a little village between Segovia and Valladolid. Due to the heat they decided to stage it at night. It’s also run in pairs. You must run the entire 26 miles with a partner and if one drops out, you both fail to finish. In the 2003 edition we ran mainly along stony tracks amongst the vineyards (this is Ribera del Duero country) accompanied by the light of the moon, the immensity of the starry sky and the repetitive music of thousands of crickets. The overall effect was strange, eerie and even hypnotic. It’s also the only race I’ve ever run in which starts and finishes with a firework display and the prize for the winning pair is their own bodyweight in wine! All true and you can check it out here, http://www.valtiendasmaraton.org/
Me and Miguel crossed the finishing line at 3:30 in the morning, 5 hours and 27 minutes after setting off and to date this remains Miguel MP’s only marathon. He hasn’t lost the habit of running at night though.
The other evening he rang to suggest an 11:30 run to the light of the biggest moon in 18 years. I saw it through the window, a huge, looming, pock-marked orb peeping out from behind Monte Pajariel. I eventually cried off but yesterday we met up at the slightly earlier time of 9:30. I’d already been for a run early in the morning but it was a fine, cool evening and the rare opportunity of an accompanied run appealed to me. Improvised a route that criss-crossed the allotments and followed sections of canal, now nourished with water again (released from the half-empty local reservoir). Passed a couple of old fellows leading a shaggy-haired donkey to a field with a home-made plough rattling along behind them. We chatted about Vatiendas and that warm August night running in silence through the vineyards and how it seemed almost dream-like.
2 runs, I must be on holiday! Morning, 31 minutes. Evening, 34 minutes.