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rumon carter | sports, reports & reviews
A Runner’s Tale (Michael)
Jim (coming soon – in multi-media)
From Rumon
My latest Triathlete Magazine online column, reporting on lessons learned from last weekend’s London Marathon, is live here. (When will they stop using that terrible picture from the Bear Mountain Summit Challenge?!)
(Apologies for the delay on the race report. Running around finalizing the purchase of our new house while getting Aviva packed for her trip to Africa and my quick trip to Courtney tomorrow to do the ski leg of the Snow to Surf Adventure Relay.)
With thanks once again to CBC radio and Kirstie Hudson, here’s the link to our post-race interview from London.
From Rumon
4:48 a.m.
The milk in the fridge has gone sour in my absence; thankfully, everything else at home is sweet, notwithstanding being wide awake at this hour, no tea to greet the morning. I look forward to being realigned with my west coast circadian rhythms.
Our London departure couldn’t have been much better. One last run, jogging along the morning Thames with Ben, soaking up the Old World through the outsoles, capping a terrific trip. Shook hands with new friends then waved goodbye to England, promising to return.
As I start to look forward to the next trip, next goal, next project, I’m gaining inspiration from the network built along Three Roads to London. This morning, I’m on the roads of Iten, Boulder and Boston, watching the final video blog from chasingKIMBIA – it’s brilliant. Perhaps it’s time to buy a video camera.
from Jim
Rumon and Mike will be in the air right now, heading in our direction. They’ll touch down sometime in the late afternoon and will be quickly slotted back into their lives. Perhaps by Sunday night we will have had a chance to sit down, pint in hand, and wrap this adventure back around. I’m looking forward to a full debriefing, bristling with its uncensored battles and photos in full, their brimming stories and updated fashion. Maybe I should have started growing stubble a few days ago, or pressed the collars of my shirts, anything to brace myself for the bit of London that will wash over us when they finally land, when they finally stop.
Here, my days are getting earlier. Today I was up with the light, tying up my shoes and heading to Beacon Hill park for a Times Colonist photo shoot. My legs felt still tangled in my sheets as I ran through the camus and along the trails behind the petting zoo, and I am sure to find both feet on the ground when the shots go to print, one arm thrust to the side for balance. The Times Colonist 10km is now only three days away and I feel less and less fit with each one that passes. This is usually a good sign, and must be the body’s way of allowing us to accept anything on race day given how wretched we felt during the lead in, thereby taking pressure off and allowing us to simply run.
I wouldn’t say that I am looking forward to Sunday’s race. No, I wouldn’t say that at all. Read the rest of this entry »
From Rumon
1:36 a.m. as I begin to type. Too late. Tired.
Another great day.
Saw off the Fowles then saw ourselves off, hiking through Ickenham to the tube, Picadilly line to Earl’s Green, District Line to Parson’s Green, across the green, press the buzzer and into the rabbit hole. My mind has been expanding since then (do I need to eat the other half of the mushroom to make it stop?).
A fantastic, at times Carrollian, day with polar explorer Ben Saunders, sharing ideas, telling tales, watching video and eating. Oh, the cuisine in London. I need to leave just to get back to training and healthy living. This marathoning is bad for the waistline!
We’re on the plane in 11 hours time. Between then and now we may or may not run, will definitely drink some coffee and will once again navigate the tube system before jetting home, reappearing above ground to our better halves’ embraces.
What a trip. So many stories. But I first owe you one from the race. If I stay awake, I shall endeavor to do put it down from seat 20f. In order for that to be a possibility, I must now lay down my head, imagining ice crystals on my duvet and polar bears outside the window, patrolling the high street.
From Rumon
Today was another day of post-race perfection, the highlight our run to Denham and back. If there was a single thing that marked the run it was the sound of a lengthy exhale, the words “my god…” wrapped in a sigh. I marveled at this run, taken as it was from a paved suburb into pastures and trails within seconds. Who would guess we’re only 17 miles from Central London? I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story – Denham, obviously, is one of the Crown Jewels – with this one bit of explanation.
I’ve mentioned that across the road from the Fowles’ residence is a field. In this field are cows. Michael has written about them and their love of running. After runners. So Michael was quite pleased when they were on the other side of the field as we ran through on our outbound leg. Not so as we were headed home. The picture of Michael looking back in my direction was taken seconds after he had checked ’round the hedge for his favourite cows. “There’s one right there,” he hissed, “And it’s looking straight at me – we’re dead!!” Well, me, being the prat that I am, had to add a little more fun to the mix, mooing at the lovely heifers as we ran past. You can see how that worked out – jolly good fun!
From Michael
Since arriving back at the hotel post-race, I’ve been giving some thought to what happened out on the course and possible explanations; I’ve yet to discover a satisfactory answer. In an attempt then to help place the pieces together (and it’s a long one), here is my chronological account of what transpired on race day. I still haven’t come to a conclusion as to “why” events unfolded the way the did, that will require much more time, but for now… the good, the bad and the lovely. Read the rest of this entry »
Sports writer Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times Colonist put together a great article yesterday, April 23rd, profiling the 2007 Flora London Marathon misadventures of Steve Osaduik and the two bonking rogues, as well as some great commentary from our man Jim Finlayson.
You can find the article online here.
More pics on the Flickr site. Hilarious run today (as you might gather from a couple of the pictures). Story to follow (in a little while).
