Marrakech Marathon 28th January
We arrived on Friday evening and met up with Charlotte from Wateraid, Dominic a reporter and Suzanne a freelance photographer. The weather was not quite what we expected from Morroco however it is the coldest month they have here. On Saturday morning Charlotte, had organised a trip to a small village up in the Atlas Mountains called Toulkin, This village had little access to clean water until water projects had been completed there.
With just a few facilities the villagers struggled with sanitation, but through all of this came the welcoming, friendly and excited kids. Suzanne took some photos and we received great hospitality from the villagers especially the guest house there who provided us with lunch and tea. The journey up and down the mountain was a bit to much for some (Ben) as we were in an old 2cv which drove close to the mountain edge. Ben then decided after seeing the 2cv struggle and slip in the snow that he would be safer walking down the mountain and felt rather dizzy watching myself and Dominic sit on the bonnet of the 2cv to give it more weight. Eventually the car did break down just as we got back to the bottom of the mountain which we then had to get a taxi back to the hotel where I crashed out for the night in preperation for the early start to the marathon the next morning.
At the start of the marathon I was nervous as I wasnt sure how my body would cope with the distance after very little training within the past 6 weeks due to a minor knee injury. I set off in a cool slightly damp conditions perfect for marathon running. My pace was a little fast over the first few kms, but I settled into a good pace fairly quickly. At about 15k I met Dave a runner from the 100 marathon club here in the uk and he said he would take me through at the right pace. So I stuck with Dave until the last few kms where I was really struggling with the build up of lactic acid in my legs. I tried my usual sprint finish but got cramp metres before the line. Finishing in 3hrs 31 mins got me inside the world record time for the accumalative time over 7 marathons on 7 continents. Now finally I can relax a little and concentrate on collecting money for Wateraid.
Thanks to you all for the support (words and donations)
Tim
We arrived on Friday evening and met up with Charlotte from Wateraid, Dominic a reporter and Suzanne a freelance photographer. The weather was not quite what we expected from Morroco however it is the coldest month they have here. On Saturday morning Charlotte, had organised a trip to a small village up in the Atlas Mountains called Toulkin, This village had little access to clean water until water projects had been completed there.
With just a few facilities the villagers struggled with sanitation, but through all of this came the welcoming, friendly and excited kids. Suzanne took some photos and we received great hospitality from the villagers especially the guest house there who provided us with lunch and tea. The journey up and down the mountain was a bit to much for some (Ben) as we were in an old 2cv which drove close to the mountain edge. Ben then decided after seeing the 2cv struggle and slip in the snow that he would be safer walking down the mountain and felt rather dizzy watching myself and Dominic sit on the bonnet of the 2cv to give it more weight. Eventually the car did break down just as we got back to the bottom of the mountain which we then had to get a taxi back to the hotel where I crashed out for the night in preperation for the early start to the marathon the next morning.
At the start of the marathon I was nervous as I wasnt sure how my body would cope with the distance after very little training within the past 6 weeks due to a minor knee injury. I set off in a cool slightly damp conditions perfect for marathon running. My pace was a little fast over the first few kms, but I settled into a good pace fairly quickly. At about 15k I met Dave a runner from the 100 marathon club here in the uk and he said he would take me through at the right pace. So I stuck with Dave until the last few kms where I was really struggling with the build up of lactic acid in my legs. I tried my usual sprint finish but got cramp metres before the line. Finishing in 3hrs 31 mins got me inside the world record time for the accumalative time over 7 marathons on 7 continents. Now finally I can relax a little and concentrate on collecting money for Wateraid.
Thanks to you all for the support (words and donations)
Tim
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