When September ends . . . again . . .

[Nigel]

Readers may be surprised to note that the first mile from Sweder's 'way too hot' (and fairly late) truck was timed by my very astonished Garmin at 7 minutes 31 seconds.

And by that stage, I was over 100 m behind Sweder, too - this enthusiastic Two Oceans Marathon / Jog Shop Jog training clearly has a lot to answer for amongst those of us left far behind amidst the still-smoking flints of the dusky trail.

Despite an unconfirmed sighting of Sweder thirty minutes later, far in the distance and somewhat alarmingly downing a large plastic cup of vodka, I didn't actually reel in my 'guest' again at any stage throughout the run.

Neither did I see any checking of the trail - those flour circles were all well and truly busted by the time I gasped through. So much for a pleasant lope - to me it was more like 4 miles belted flat out through the dusk with only a few puffing geriatrics and my camera for company.

Strangely though, I did finally catch Sweder at the beer stop. And soon after, I slipped swiftly and elegantly past in the food queue - the important lesson being that conscientious training alone can't provide all the answers ... or at least not where the more tactical scramble for extra sausages is concerned ...