Guadarun 2008
Bryan Sharp writes
The Guadarun seemed like a gentle introduction to multistage racing! With several half marathons and plenty of long runs under our belt 150kms in 5 days would present a new challenge but appeared a lot less daunting than jumping head first into a traditional MDS style race!
Shirley Thompson at eventrate,com kindly organised our connection with Lucien the event organiser! Before we knew it the entrance money was transferred, flights booked , training completed, baby wipes purchased and we were on our way!
We chose to arrive a day early, giving us two whole days to adapt from our glorious British spring to the slightly sunnier and less snowy climate of the Caribbean! The welcome couldn’t have been warmer, despite the fact Andy and myself only knew enough French to find a train station and buy a baguette the couple that collected us at the airport were warm friendly and very understanding! The only problem occurred with the loss of my baggage at CDG, the event organisers had it in hand from the first instance and assured me that they would do their up most to ensure I had my bag or replacement compulsory equipment for the first race day! Phew!
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The first night was spent in dormitory style accommodation with an evening meal provided, the brief was concise and clear but unfortunately entirely in French, our new found continental friends did their best to translate before Jo, doctor and unofficial interpreter stepped in! It was now crystal clear that Andy and myself should have concentrated on French phrases concerned with road and multi terrain racing and not on the location of the nearest boulangerie!
Mal de mer, is a phrase we quickly became accustomed with as we headed off to the first island to pitch camp! The ferry bounced through a rocky 2 meter sea swell which the captain assured us was calm compared to the previous weeks 7 metres! The sea claimed a few lunches but all in all it just added to the adventure! As the ferry entered the port we were greeted by an picture postcard Caribbean island, the kind of place that even the man from Del Monte would say a very, very big Yes too! Yet again the organisation was flawless, tents distributed quickly, pitched in duex seconds, before we were given our pre race briefing and yet another delicious meal, bon appetite!
to be continued
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