Bucharest Marathon and Half - 6 October
On Friday October 4th, a group of bleary-eyed Bourton Roadrunners boarded a bus at 3:00am and headed to Romania for the club trip to Bucharest. We were greeted by warm sunshine and spent Saturday getting our bearings, finding favourite cafés and discovering that beer was very cheap indeed. On Race Day morning, at 4:39am, we were firmly shaken in our beds. Some slept through it; some blamed the gyrations on their partners – either way, what turned out to be a small earthquake provided a rare and welcome distraction at breakfast for those of us normally beset with pre-race nerves.
Nigel Frith and Ewen Smith were our representatives in the Marathon. Nigel, fearing he would succumb to a troubling niggle, was bolstered with one of Shirl’s “horse pills”. Ewen was hoping that his long runs with super-swift Shona Crombie-Hicks would be sufficient preparation for his first sub-3 hour marathon.
Mike Smith had opted to run the Half Marathon (hoping to get into the prize list), along with PB-hunter Steph Holton, Susan Hunt (claiming to be tapering for a marathon), Catherine Wheeler (not sure what to expect having recently run a big PB at Cheltenham Half), David Pyne (always quiet and calm), Lynn Hudson and Shirley Creed (aiming for a sub 2 hour finish).
All were pleased to discover that the 2 lap course was flat and run on wide, traffic-free boulevards. Support was loud and enthusiastic in the heart of the city, where Bourton’s supporting group made more noise than anyone else. On the more distant parts of the course, security officers outnumbered supporters and runners received curious looks from the people of Bucharest who were attempting to go about their business as usual. The route doubled-back on itself in a number of places, giving some of us the rare opportunity to see Mike Smith in action at the front of the race.
Mike hung onto a group of marathon runners until 12 miles, before saying goodbye and flying off to finish 4th in the Half Marathon race and first MV40 in 1:13:40.
Steph’s commitment to her arduous training schedule paid off, as she ran a huge PB of nearly 3 minutes to finish 2nd FV45 in 1:38:28. Next in was Susan, later cursing a dodgy chip because only her gun time of 1:44:27 was recorded (a PB nevertheless and 4th FV45). Catherine surprised herself with yet another PB (1:45:30). David ran a well-paced 1:53:27 and Lynn and Shirl finished well within their target time in 1:58:17 (Shirl 4th FV50 and Lynn 3rd FV55).
Ewen managed to hold onto sub-3 hour pace for the first half of the race, although he slowed towards the end, finishing in 3:04:23 (5th MV45). A jubilant Nigel recorded 3:19:53 – an outstanding PB of around 8 minutes.
We all trooped back to race headquarters to discover that while Mike Smith had remained on the course supporting each one of his fellow club runners, the presentation ceremony had taken place without him. In the absence of an official, he was awarded a cheque and (curiously) a bag of vegetables by Mick Hunt.
The traditional evening celebration took place in a traditional Romanian restaurant (big plates of meat and spare ribs served on a sword etc). The 22 club-members toasted Dennis Abbots and awarded his trophy to Nigel, for his superb marathon PB.
Highlights
This year’s club trip was to Bucharest, Romania. Full and half marathons were on offer.
Mike Smith show his true talent, finishing the half marathon in 1:13:40 for 4th place and 1st MV40.
A number of impressive PBs were claimed, including 3 minutes in the half for Steph Holton and 8 minutes in the marathon for Nigel Frith.
Dennis Abbotts’ memory was kept alive through the presentation of his memorial trophy to a deserving Nigel Frith.
Other reports may be found on our recent race reports page.