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Post date: Sep 18, 2012 9:48:18 PM
Val in Poland
We arrived in Poland on September 3 and were taken to the AWF hotel and the institute of sport, the hotel doubles as a hall of residence for the institute and is therefore utilitarian, clean and acceptable. The weather was hot, very hot and it soon became apparent that to keep cool at night you had to open the windows and when you did this the sound of the adjacent highway was going to keep you awake.
The food suited carnivores with meat, either hot or cold being served at every meal and usually accompanied by coleslaw or tomatoes.
Up until race day the weather was frighteningly hot but thankfully cooled for the start of the race.
The 1.5 km course was testing, It was a rectangle around w lake with two long sides and two short ends, one long side was made of bricks laid on their sides and climbed steadily for it’s full length, a right angle turn took the athletes on to asphalt which continued to climb, a right angle turn then saw the athletes run down through the feeding station and through the start finish line and past the only portaloos on the course . A right angle turn took them on to the bottom short side which was made of uneven cobles which were designed to cause mayhem and injury.
By the Marathon Val was 5 minutes behind the pace she wanted and it was obvious that this was going to be a long 24 hours. With steely determination Val settled in to her running , not lapping as fast as she wanted but never stopping or taking a rest. Was it lack of sleep, lack of pudding or just not her day? We will never know, but Val was in a team and she needed t keep going and so she did. Through the mild night and the small showers, slowing only to take on sustenance, a poly prop and the call of nature, which in itself was treacherous with 5 portaloos for 260 athletes + their crews!
As morning broke Val was still travelling round but she was back down the field and not looking good. But she was conserving her energy for a final assault. With an hour to go she was in 54th place and struggling. There was no point holding back now – one last massive effort could put her in the top 50. So she went for it, picking up speed with every lap and finishing with over 10 km in last hour, she pulled herself from 54th to 47th beating the Ukraine athlete by 24 metres who had a 1.5 km lead on her with an hour to go.
Another race over – not the result she had hoped for but a result.
Val Muskett 183 969,53 47
