I have happy memories now from a day which I initially thought I was going to look back on as unremittingly horrible. I started out feeling awful, really lethargic, and ended up feeling pretty good, actually quite surprised at how well I could run after having been running for so many hours. It was a very warm day but even that didn’t spoil things for me, although my day really picked up when the sun went down.
There were some rather unusual aspects to this race, the most obvious one being that runners were allowed to be accompanied by a supporter on a bicycle for the final 93 kilometres of the route. I was very alarmed when I first heard this because I thought that so many bikes on the course would be a nuisance, but even though it seemed that most runners had a bike rider with them the bikes were rarely an issue. Having the bikes around meant that, as the field spread out, even when I couldn't see other runners I could generally see a bike so I didn’t feel so alone, and all those bikes gave me something else to look at when the scenery palled. I felt for the bike riders since 100 km is a lot to cover by bike at a slow pace, or at a fast pace for that matter. Some of the bikes seemed to settle into groups and be enjoying themselves as if they were just out there for a day ride while others stayed right by their runners. Many of them had boxes strapped to their pannier racks for their runner's bottles and carried a lot of gear. I carried my stuff myself, but only water, phone and sunblock.
The other unusual feature was that at 9.30 before the race start we had to get into the race corral and then walk in procession for about a kilometre through the town of Millau, all of us packed tightly together. This was slow work and not nice at all, but apparently compulsory. There were well over 1300 runners in the marathon or 100 km, the majority in the longer race. Then at 10am the real race started, and a wiser person would have snuck into the race at that point.
I started the day with a cup of instant coffee and two croissants from the bakery across the road from my hotel. The race started so late that I had time to go out and buy breakfast.
The entire route was on sealed roads, both major and minor, and was virtually all closed to traffic. We started with running the first of two loops, a marathon. Only a quarter of the field were doing just the marathon and they were mixed in with the rest of us. I hadn’t paid much attention to the route profile except to read that the first 20 kilometres were flat and that there were hills in the second loop. I should have done my homework better.
In the early kilometres we went out of Millau into the Parc Regional des Causses and near the Tarn river and gently undulated below high limestone cliffs. We passed a strange looking ruined castle that looked like it could fall off the mountainside at any moment and there were pretty Provençal type villages all over the place, some on the sides of the mountains. It was generally pretty scenery without being sensational, but I’ve become spoilt by the good stuff I’ve seen this summer. There were a few supporters in the villages, not like in the Tours marathon and less vocal but friendly nevertheless. I realise now that we were going generally uphill but I didn’t think about it at the time.
After the first few aid stations (fruit, slices of baguette with terrine or cream cheese or even Roquefort, madeleines, chocolate, raisins and then water, coke, orange juice and Orangina) I started to feel a little better. Typically for the first kilometre after each aid station I felt totally renewed and then I would start to fade again. I wasn’t bothered about my speed because I knew I had a long way to go but I would have liked to have felt I was expending less effort for the pace. There again the day had warmed up and I knew the heat would take a toll. I think I've become used to running in the heat over the summer so I wasn’t stressing about it.
We crossed the Tarn and everyone stopped to take a photo of a partly incomplete bridge with just one arch remaining.
Then we climbed above the river and went through some quaint villages on the return to Millau. I had not appreciated how much we had climbed until now so I thought the descent would just be short but I heard someone tell a runner that after 30 km we had a gradual descent all the way back to town. The descent turned out to be so long that I even took walking breaks, something I never choose to do when going downhill, but I found myself unable to keep running the whole time. I also stopped to take a few photos just to have a break.
Before 40 km I looked up and noticed a whole lot of paragliders above the closest mountain, and saw a couple of them landing in the field right by us.
By this time, with only a few kilometres to go to finish the marathon portion, I was really tired. I heard at least two people talk about finishing at the end of the marathon instead of continuing; I didn’t know at this stage how easy it would be to do that. I knew I personally wasn’t going to stop but I also believed I was going to feel completely destroyed by the end of my race.
We came back into Millau, ran through town which was very busy and into the start area, going right into the race building where the place to go if you wanted to abandon the race was all too clearly signed. We left Millau on the second loop going in a different direction and I tried to focus on what I had done rather than what still lay ahead of me. What still lay ahead seemed dauntingly difficult to me but almost immediately I felt a little better for having completed a marathon.
In hindsight with this being the hottest part of the day it wasn’t surprising I felt so bad. Although I would have expected to feel less exhausted after running a 5:12 marathon this turned out to be a reasonable pace in terms of wear on my legs.
The highlight of the second loop was our passing under the Millau viaduct which is an amazing engineering marvel. The road had been climbing steadily from Millau but the bridge was way above us. This part of the route was along a major road, closed to traffic but very exposed to the sun and the race organisers had put out extra drink stops which I really appreciated. For a while we had an aid station every two or three kilometres and without those I would have suffered greatly.
There were two sizeable villages between Millau and St Affrique, our turnaround. Both had plenty of supporters and nice old buildings. At St Georges de Luzon I sat for a few minutes at the aid station (my only sit down all race) and felt a lot better when I departed. I was really loving the terrine sandwiches by this time, and the ham sandwiches, and avoiding sweet foods, but mainly drinking Orangina.
Between here and St Rome de Cernon it was a gentle grade and we were off onto country roads. The sun was fading but the air was still very warm. From St Rome there was a massive hill. My only comfort was that once I reached the top and came down the other side I would be in St Affrique with 70 kilometres done. Everyone was walking the uphill. I made an effort to make myself like the feeling of the sun's last warm rays on my skin rather than dwell on how worn out I felt and other negative thoughts. Passing some patches of very enthusiastic supporters I did my best to smile; they were all reminding us that we would soon be on our return journey, saying "A tout a l'heure".
St Affrique was bigger than I expected. There was a lovely old stone bridge. The pavement cafes were bustling and we had to dodge traffic. At the indoor aid station I picked up my head lights and my long sleeved shirt and I left my race vest behind as I would no longer need phone or sunblock.
When I came outside again a transformation had taken place. The air was cool. I felt a new person, and I really could not believe the impact this had on my running. It was not yet dark but the sun had definitely gone. I managed to run up a large part of the massive hill out of town (about four kilometres) and all of the descent. I was on fire but I did not know how long it would last. For the first time I thought I could meet my pre race goal of finishing on the same day I had started: ie running under 14 hours and finishing before midnight.
This last 30 kilometres were quite lonely, especially after it got properly dark. Occasionally I would pass or be passed or a bike would whizz by. The bikes were well illuminated but some runners didn’t even bother with lights. It was very peaceful and I enjoyed the solitude. Mostly I enjoyed the temperature. The aid stations and their cheering crowds had quietened down a lot and the two villages were closed up for the night. The moon had not yet risen and there were a few stars, and a runner pointed out Mars to me; I had last seen Mars from Rifugio Carestiato on the Alta Via 1. He complimented me on my even pace and then ran off into the night. It was true that most people I saw were walking.
The five kilometre markers were painted on the road so I knew how I was going. I was very excited to get to the start of the climb up to the underneath of the viaduct because I knew this was the last hill and I would soon be descending into Millau. Of course I had forgotten some bits of the route within Millau so this last section was longer than I anticipated, but at least it wasn't unpleasant.
By now the moon was just over the horizon, a large orangey ball, almost full. There were some people sitting in the darkness at one intersection and they called out “Allez Monsieur”. When I said “Madame” they laughed and apologised profusely. At 97 km there was an aid station and I saw the 13 1/2 hour pacer stop there - he was just ahead of me and was the only pacer I had noticed all evening - so I decided to skip the aid station and try to run under 13 1/2 hours. I was rather surprised that in the closing kilometres I felt more comfortable than I had felt at the end of my marathon six days ago but there I was maybe trying harder.
I ran up the street to the race HQ and turned into the park, then slowly slowly reached the finishing arch and finally went indoors to cross the finish line in 13 hours 18 minutes. (This was my clock time and we never did get an accurate chip time.) It was a great feeling but I could barely raise my head let alone my arms. Strangely, I felt sleepy and collapsed onto a chair. I didn’t get much done in the next few hours.
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