A Race Report by Jody Draude
The good news: not much wind.
The bad news : temperatures of ~30 degrees Celsius.
What started as a fantastic day for running quickly got a bit sketchy, with the temperature climbing like a Carl Pryce ascent of Centennial Trail: relentless.
That said, the conditions favoured the runts, the blissfully ignorant, and those lucky enough to have joined Blaine and crew for an epic glycogen depleting run/jog/stagger three weeks before the race. Right up my alley.
Even armed with the aforementioned advantage, the wall of heat awaiting me (and everyone else) at about 25km necessitated a hastily negotiated deal with the Devil. In my stupor, I reasoned that I could engage Duncan to find me a loophole if Satan came through on his (her?) side of the bargain. Deal in one hand and a couple of sponges in the other, I managed to hang on to a decent pace for the last 10 miles. Over to you Duncan: I am counting on you.
With the 2:40 barrier looming, I managed to sneak under the wire with a couple minutes to spare: fueled by the horrible fear that I would finish at 2:40:01, and be ever after saddled with the burden of having to run another one of these stupid things.
p.s. I managed to beat Joan Benoit Samuelson (sic?) this year after last year's crushing defeat. In fact, I don't think I was passed by one senior citizen this year, a staggering achievement.
p.p.s For those thinking of running this race in the future, please take note that there was free beer at the finish line. I caveat that this perk may have been a one-off throw in by the Devil in 2010 in response to my great negotiation skills, in which case you are on your own to negotiate your own deals in 2011 and beyond.
Jody
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