 Pauillac, Bordeaux, Sept 6, 2008
Without a doubt this was an extraoridinary day out in the vineyards.
8,500 runners gathered on a gloomy morning in the village of Pauillac.
A normally sleepy village had been turned into a mad scene of tarpeze artists, tented villages and all the trappings of a professional marathon event. As we walked from the bus towards the village centre we began to notice the extreme fancy dress options chosen by some very brave runners. The variety, quality and sheer audacity put our grass skirts to shame - stuffed straw scarecrows - the French Airforce complete with eight foot long airplane - which they pushed the whole way around - windmills with shooting firewwork sails - boats - bicycles - steamrollers - bare bums and hanging other pieces - clowns - roman soldiers in battle dress- it went on and on. All sorts were dragged, pushed and pulled around the full 42K. Clearly the fancy dress bit was taken very seriously here!
We had seen about a thousand of the runners the previous evening at the Pasta Dinner for a Thousand Runners in Blaignon up in St Estephe. Picture a giant tent at the edge of a small rural village which had been entirely closed off for the dinner. Course after course of pasta dishes culminated in a chocolate pasta dessert and fireworks display - Oh and there was an endless supply of wine and dancing. Party time before the race!
The race itself was tough and eventful. I had been commissioned to write the story for GO Magazine in the IrishTimes. I wrote it and it read brilliantly. Then the IrishTimes decided to shaft the commission on the basis that the CIVB had helped me out - ie a commercial marketing body might have made it all look like a 'bought' column - hidden rules for their own I suspect; after all every column in GO is a bought column! It took me a while to get over this sleight.
Anyhow Checkout ran with it. Great people in Checkout.
Suffice to say here that we ran up and down the Medoc; through vineyards and properties and even wineries! Bands played and the locals partied with us. It was incredible. There were 23 wine tasting stations, almost no loos - use the vines - and then we were fed a five course ' meal' before the race ended - ham, oysters, steaks, cheese and fruit. Along the way the 'Tibetan Monks' stripped and dived into the lake at Lafite Rothschild; the Gates to Mouton were thrown open to us; I ran out of energy and then with Bren and Kierans help I got going again, and again, and again....wineries and vines and names just kept coming and going and then I saw it - the finishing red carpet.
We came home in 5 hours 20 minutes. It might not have been a great marathon time but the tasting stations, my energy levels and the sheer volume of craic and people made it a very, very memorable time. I'd go so far as to say it is one of those mighty events that everyone should get to see at least once. Now, taking part in it is another matter altogether!
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