Running

It usually happens around a restaurant table following a run and after we've all consumed at least half our beer.  Someone says something like, "We should all sign up and do x" (where x is a slightly more crazy than normal event). That's how it happened for the 2009 Goofy Challenge; I'm pretty sure that's how it happened when five of us (Melissa, Susan, Jim, Bill, and me) decided to run this year's Marathon du Medoc.

Several days in Paris.  Several days in Bordeaux.  A week in the Dordogne region.  What could be bad about all that?  Oh,...I almost forgot: it's that little 26.2 mile run that I'll have to survive during one of the days.  Did I mention that there is wine served at every water stop?  Did I mention that food (i.e., oysters on the half-shell, cured ham, grilled beef, and ice cream) is served on the course over the final three miles?  I can tell you that nothing prepared me/us for the experience that is Marathon du Medoc.

On a day with a temperature forecast to hit 80F, the five of us set off with ~8,500 other runners (most of whom were in costume) to "run" through the Bordeaux wine region.  That there are better ways to see the famous wineries of Bordeaux goes without saying.  The sheer spectacle of event is what makes it the most unique way to see the wineries.  As I perspired more than I ever thought possible -- enough to short out my iPod by the ninth mile -- some of the other runners were pushing homemade floats that measured as much as twelve feet in length and required a team of four to navigate.  It was complete insanity and our group's finish times reflect that fact.

Melissa: 04:56:25; Jim*: 06:09:59; Bill: 06:14:51; Richard: 06:19:11; Susan*: 06:22:41

* Jim and Susan ran an extra 2 kilometers out-of-the way about half-way through the race.  They likely beat my finish time as a result of the extra distance if you take total distance into account.  The point is that nobody (except possibly Melissa) was running this event for time.