BULGARIA (14.10.18)
Just 5 weeks after Tallinn, I travelled to Sofia in Bulgaria to run their city marathon for number 19 of 28. With Cat 38 weeks pregnant I had expected to be going solo but one of my good mates, Mike Ward, volunteered to come with me. I tried hard to find a patient to interview but as with much of Eastern Europe, there aren't any visible support groups or charities and with the huge language barrier it proved to be tough. Mike and I drove to St Albans near to Luton Airport and stayed with another good mate, Tom who very kindly dropped us off the next morning. I'd trained through plantar fascitis and a few niggles picked up from Tallinn, not in PB form but confident of improving on my other 2018 races given some kind weather. When we arrived we picked up the race bib at the expo and took in some of the sights including the stunning Nevsky Cathedral and the less aesthetically pleasing Levski Stadium before having an early pasta dinner and a strong night's sleep.
Start
With a rare 10am start I was able to get a decent breakfast, stretch and head to the start feeling pretty relaxed. It felt pretty fresh (we were 550m above sea level) but it wasn't cold as I lined up ready to take on the 4 lap course. It was a pretty small field of 500 or so runners, most looked well built for it, there was a Roman centurion, a couple of blind runners and their guides and a guy on crutches, fair play! The race kicked off to an airhorn and it took less than 20 seconds to get into a good stride as the runners spread out as the route headed up to the impressive Palace of National Culture with it's statues and fountains. I'd read a lot about the course in advance and knew that the aeroplane shape track I'd be taking on had a few inclines but the first half of the first lap definitely was more up than down. But once through the first 3 miles or so there was a whole load of fantastic downhill, more than I'd seen since the hills of Brussels marathon, it felt like I was going downhill for 20 mins or more.
Trying to learn from past mistakes I tried not to go off to quick and was nicely averaging 8.45 min miles, pulling back on the downhills where I could have put my foot down. There was a testing 'out and back' on the Bulgaria Boulevard and I looked down to see that the dual carriageway tarmac seemed to be lacquered although was a bit bumpy. The first of a few skinny stray dogs meandered across the lanes, they weren't that interested in the runners but it was a bit of a shock to see so many. For some bizarre reason the race organisers decided to start the marathon race first then the half, then the 10KM which meant that a huge number of fast and elite runners would need to weave their way through, not very smart that and actually a bit demoralising for those of us doing the longer format. Always great to see Kenyan runners breeze past and the eventual winner Stephen Kiplagat (who set a new record for the race, 2hrs 15) came by me at least twice to which I applauded.
Middle
Heading down still further along Cherni Vruh Boulevard I could see mountains in the distance which more than made up for the lack of entertainment/bands/anything on the course. I got through the first lap in 53 minutes, about 3 ahead of PB pace and felt pretty good. Water stops were spread out pretty wide but even though it was bright and sunny I got into a good breathing rhythm. Starting the next lap it did feel re-assuringly boring in a good way at this point, I knew where it was going to be tough and when I could make up time. I saw Mike near to our hotel at Patriarh Evtimii Boulevard who chucked me a bottle of water and round I went again. The course took us up through the suburbs on a long incline and there were plenty of police officers there with automatic weapons. My mind wandered wondering why there were so many, perhaps it was a dangerous neighbourhood, I was just about grateful to see them I thought. Up to 10 miles and I'd got round in 1 hour 25 mins, still ahead of schedule but in need of fluids as the day warmed up.
It was great to see the floodlights of the stadium in the distance at the end of each lap although the organisers seemed to have tagged on an extra hilly half a mile switchback just beforehand which was a bit of a (needless) test. Back past the stadium and another sharp reverse before the finish line meant running through a tight gap in a hedge! It was clear that the half marathon race was much more popular as the vast majority were sprinting for the line as a few of us trudged on for another 2 laps to the tune of Blondie's 'Atomic'. I grabbed a bottle of water just after the halfway point not realising that this would be my last drink of 8 miles (1 hr 15 mins). As I made my way from mile 13 to 21 I ran past 4 water stations that had run out of water entirely. This wasn't the first time I encountered this on the challenge but definitely the first time I'd passed 4 different tables with nothing more than a damp sponge on them. On a warmer day this could have caused serious injury or maybe fatality, utterly disgraceful and I let rip on those behind the fourth empty station -probably not the best idea but I couldn't help myself. I decided to bang down a couple of energy gels to compensate and tried to take my mind off it and put on my Ipod.
End
On the 3rd lap, having messaged Mike ahead of time, he had turned up with a bottle of water, a bottle of mixed electrolyte drink and even a wet hand towel from the hotel bathroom which he put over my head. It was a total lifesaver as I was still 3 miles or so from the next water station without a guarantee of their being anything there. He took a couple of photos and I cracked on with a bit more impetus after my much needed pit stop. Up to 9.30 minute miles I was struggling to stay on track for PB and after some quick maths decided that sub 4.10 would be a realistic challenge giving me my fastest result since last October in Amsterdam. That would at least show that I could still run a decent time. Heading across Patriarh Evtimii Boulevard I turned the corner and got struck down with cramp in my right quad pinning me to the spot in the wrong direction. The marshal there just stared at me but a team of Bulgarian runners came over and thrust a magnesium drink into my hand ("you drink!") and one of the team started vigorously massaging my leg. I've said it before and once again, a marathon re-inforces your faith in humanity. Kindness and decent human spirit crosses borders, languages and colours no matter how hard the Daily Mail and co peddles it's nasty agenda.
I got going again and having had my usual race wobble started to speed up again on the downhill sections back towards the centre of the city. It had clouded over nicely and although the route had got pretty boring after 3 hours and 4 laps I was ticking along OK looking forward to crossing the line for my last race of the year. There was a bit more of a crowd building and I was getting some thumbs up and raised glasses from the locals for running in my Bulgaria football shirt (luckily they beat Cyprus 2-1 the previous night). I saw Mike again who had surprised me at mile 24 with a bottle of water (legend!), I had half and gave the rest to the runner behind me, keen to pay back the universe for earlier. Past the national stadium one last time and down the Dragan Tsankov Boulevard it was a relief to know I was just half a mile from the finish and not far away from a steak and a beer. A few more came sprinting past me but I didn't have much left, my hips had tightened and my quads were burning. I got over the line, grabbed a medal and looked around for some water or food. No joy, they'd run out, again. Luckily Mike was waiting with another bottle of water and a can of Bulgarian lager! Another one done and now just 9 to go with a decent break until Cyprus in March.
Pics
Trip pics viewable here
Weather
10c bright, cloudless sky rising to 20c by the final hour and clouded over.
Ratings
Start
With a rare 10am start I was able to get a decent breakfast, stretch and head to the start feeling pretty relaxed. It felt pretty fresh (we were 550m above sea level) but it wasn't cold as I lined up ready to take on the 4 lap course. It was a pretty small field of 500 or so runners, most looked well built for it, there was a Roman centurion, a couple of blind runners and their guides and a guy on crutches, fair play! The race kicked off to an airhorn and it took less than 20 seconds to get into a good stride as the runners spread out as the route headed up to the impressive Palace of National Culture with it's statues and fountains. I'd read a lot about the course in advance and knew that the aeroplane shape track I'd be taking on had a few inclines but the first half of the first lap definitely was more up than down. But once through the first 3 miles or so there was a whole load of fantastic downhill, more than I'd seen since the hills of Brussels marathon, it felt like I was going downhill for 20 mins or more.
Trying to learn from past mistakes I tried not to go off to quick and was nicely averaging 8.45 min miles, pulling back on the downhills where I could have put my foot down. There was a testing 'out and back' on the Bulgaria Boulevard and I looked down to see that the dual carriageway tarmac seemed to be lacquered although was a bit bumpy. The first of a few skinny stray dogs meandered across the lanes, they weren't that interested in the runners but it was a bit of a shock to see so many. For some bizarre reason the race organisers decided to start the marathon race first then the half, then the 10KM which meant that a huge number of fast and elite runners would need to weave their way through, not very smart that and actually a bit demoralising for those of us doing the longer format. Always great to see Kenyan runners breeze past and the eventual winner Stephen Kiplagat (who set a new record for the race, 2hrs 15) came by me at least twice to which I applauded.
Middle
Heading down still further along Cherni Vruh Boulevard I could see mountains in the distance which more than made up for the lack of entertainment/bands/anything on the course. I got through the first lap in 53 minutes, about 3 ahead of PB pace and felt pretty good. Water stops were spread out pretty wide but even though it was bright and sunny I got into a good breathing rhythm. Starting the next lap it did feel re-assuringly boring in a good way at this point, I knew where it was going to be tough and when I could make up time. I saw Mike near to our hotel at Patriarh Evtimii Boulevard who chucked me a bottle of water and round I went again. The course took us up through the suburbs on a long incline and there were plenty of police officers there with automatic weapons. My mind wandered wondering why there were so many, perhaps it was a dangerous neighbourhood, I was just about grateful to see them I thought. Up to 10 miles and I'd got round in 1 hour 25 mins, still ahead of schedule but in need of fluids as the day warmed up.
It was great to see the floodlights of the stadium in the distance at the end of each lap although the organisers seemed to have tagged on an extra hilly half a mile switchback just beforehand which was a bit of a (needless) test. Back past the stadium and another sharp reverse before the finish line meant running through a tight gap in a hedge! It was clear that the half marathon race was much more popular as the vast majority were sprinting for the line as a few of us trudged on for another 2 laps to the tune of Blondie's 'Atomic'. I grabbed a bottle of water just after the halfway point not realising that this would be my last drink of 8 miles (1 hr 15 mins). As I made my way from mile 13 to 21 I ran past 4 water stations that had run out of water entirely. This wasn't the first time I encountered this on the challenge but definitely the first time I'd passed 4 different tables with nothing more than a damp sponge on them. On a warmer day this could have caused serious injury or maybe fatality, utterly disgraceful and I let rip on those behind the fourth empty station -probably not the best idea but I couldn't help myself. I decided to bang down a couple of energy gels to compensate and tried to take my mind off it and put on my Ipod.
End
On the 3rd lap, having messaged Mike ahead of time, he had turned up with a bottle of water, a bottle of mixed electrolyte drink and even a wet hand towel from the hotel bathroom which he put over my head. It was a total lifesaver as I was still 3 miles or so from the next water station without a guarantee of their being anything there. He took a couple of photos and I cracked on with a bit more impetus after my much needed pit stop. Up to 9.30 minute miles I was struggling to stay on track for PB and after some quick maths decided that sub 4.10 would be a realistic challenge giving me my fastest result since last October in Amsterdam. That would at least show that I could still run a decent time. Heading across Patriarh Evtimii Boulevard I turned the corner and got struck down with cramp in my right quad pinning me to the spot in the wrong direction. The marshal there just stared at me but a team of Bulgarian runners came over and thrust a magnesium drink into my hand ("you drink!") and one of the team started vigorously massaging my leg. I've said it before and once again, a marathon re-inforces your faith in humanity. Kindness and decent human spirit crosses borders, languages and colours no matter how hard the Daily Mail and co peddles it's nasty agenda.
I got going again and having had my usual race wobble started to speed up again on the downhill sections back towards the centre of the city. It had clouded over nicely and although the route had got pretty boring after 3 hours and 4 laps I was ticking along OK looking forward to crossing the line for my last race of the year. There was a bit more of a crowd building and I was getting some thumbs up and raised glasses from the locals for running in my Bulgaria football shirt (luckily they beat Cyprus 2-1 the previous night). I saw Mike again who had surprised me at mile 24 with a bottle of water (legend!), I had half and gave the rest to the runner behind me, keen to pay back the universe for earlier. Past the national stadium one last time and down the Dragan Tsankov Boulevard it was a relief to know I was just half a mile from the finish and not far away from a steak and a beer. A few more came sprinting past me but I didn't have much left, my hips had tightened and my quads were burning. I got over the line, grabbed a medal and looked around for some water or food. No joy, they'd run out, again. Luckily Mike was waiting with another bottle of water and a can of Bulgarian lager! Another one done and now just 9 to go with a decent break until Cyprus in March.
Pics
Trip pics viewable here
Weather
10c bright, cloudless sky rising to 20c by the final hour and clouded over.
Ratings
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