Brussels Marathon - Oct 7th - a quick review....

Conquered those crazy hills with a Personal Best...only just!


A hilly course through the capital of belgium, a small marathon and considered a non-PB course, but with the right mindset, our group of 3 did it!

of course this was mapped by my faithful Runkeeper iPhone App who declared I have done an Ultra Marathon (43km+ Thanks to lack of GPS inside tunnels) - it nevertheless illustrates that we parted from the Half marathon crowd (whom I never saw, at around 20kms, to go into the woods) and back up into town again...my iPhone battery drained at the finish line, to deliver this result, and a last text message of where my hubby has been waiting for me.

Thanks to a conversation with a 3:57 veteran, we were prewarned - Some long uphills around 30km mark to save your energy for, once onto 40kms (which is near the start),

one can let loose  - (the first time in my racing 'career' that my toes have felt like they were burning in the last 6kms. )

running down these slopes through the arches, with photographers lining the grass...do I let my toes burn, or regret forever? I chose the former ;)

to hit the Grand Place finish (minding the cobblestones on the last 1km or so and entering via meandering the corner where the new Superdry store is, Tintin, Godiva...and in the centre of the Grand Place....the big clock....saying something less than what my fridge magnet at home says, so I knew...the PB is in the bag. :)

LHS: Seng's medal that came with free waffle, and foil body wrap and AA sports drink. Right: Mine, No frills, approx 3/4 hour later..after all, I am an 'ultra endurance athlete' per Lucozade re time out on the road, and therefore need no other encouragement. ;p

 Good atmosphere with crowds, marshalls and drink station volunteers cheering your name printed on your bib. "Allez Bonnie"...

A chance also to feel like an elite with 'personal drink' service available (although I didn't trust the service and came with no stickers/flags to label..hence I was my own personal drink carrier as I learnt from Amsterdam Half that AA (pronounced Ah-Ah - the Dutch 'After Activity' Isotonic drink, does nothing to me).






Then, an evening of enjoying the Best of Brussels culinary treats with my fellow runners and fellow travellers from Texas..

Another Blue technical shirt to keep...here's my collection of marathon finishing tshirts (all sub-5's!) over the years (missing Paris - which was another boring white tee good enough only for sleeping) - very, very relieved to report that it has been a consistent improvement in times over the 4.5 years since I started 'doing marathons'.


There's lots to juggle at the moment, so I should stop now and save more for the emotional, technical entry which I will post soon to do this event justice. A few days now to recuperate, eating and sleeping well, ensuring my legs can still move, for the Palace to Palace bike ride this sunday (Thanks All who are reading this, and have contributed to my fundraising efforts so far!).