This was always going to be a "just-finish" race for me, and that's exactly what I did. 72nd woman out of 121. 1 hour 33 mins. A new PR (cos I've never raced this distance before). Not bad, not great, happy to finish but it was hard going.
This is a beautiful race, crossing 5 of Basel's bridges. It deserves a good race report, but my brain is on vacation.
This is a beautiful race, crossing 5 of Basel's bridges. It deserves a good race report, but my brain is on vacation.
Highlights/incidents:
· First 3 km were just fun, I was so happy just to be there and running
· After the first water station at 3 km, wasn't feeling so happy anymore. Running up the north bank of the Rhine in full sun, I felt so tired and sluggish I was having serious thoughts of "how can I drop out and not lose face".
· Around 6 km (?) a skateboarder came whizzing down a side path directly towards me and 2 other runners. I had to leap out of the way in order not to be in a major collision. The other runners shouted "Arschloch" (no translation necessary!"), but I felt a bit sorry for the poor guy, as he just looked totally bemused. He didn't apologise though.
· Anyway, the adrenaline did me good and I began to perk up.
· By the water station at 7 km I was back to being happy just to be there.
· The km markings were completely random as far as I could tell - I saw them at 3, 7, 10, and 11. I also saw one saying "1" when I'd already been running for an hour.
· I almost started an international incident near the end, when I stuck thumbs up at some Sri Lankan guys in the park who were cheering everyone. I know they were Sri Lankan because they shouted after me "no no, not good for Sri Lankans." Apparently the thumbs-up gesture is considered extremely rude in Sri Lanka as it is in Turkey and Iran. Oops.
· As I crossed the second-to-last bridge I was so taken by the view that I ran into the railings.
· My knees hurt, my hip-flexors hurt and my feet hurt - I am so spoiled being able to run on trails all the time, I need to do some more training on pavements.
· I had no finishing sprint, I was toast by the end of this race, and hobbling around still yesterday.
· If you wanted a race T-shirt, they were 15 CHF
· They did give you a rose when you finished, which was great.
· My friend was 25th woman, yay!
Overall this was a wonderful race. Friendly (as friendly as things get here anyway), extremely well organized and the route was absolutely beautiful. Highly recommended if you find yourself in this neck of the woods any August.
