Marathon du Medoc

For the challenge of September we were once again joined by our friends Angus and Lucy.  (With whom we completed the 3 peaks challenge in January.  

Since last seeing them they've had a bit of excitement in their lives themselves; Angus successfully summated the north face of Mount Everest and they are expecting their first child next month.  

The Medoc Marathon is slightly different than other marathons for a few reasons.  There is a costume theme-this year the theme was science fiction.  Additionally we ran through 50 chateaux with wine tastings at 30.  Along the way chocolates, sandwiches, cheese, oysters and ice cream were offered.  

Marathon day we were up EXTRA early for hair and makeup.  Thanks to amazon and sephora we created our avatar costumes with the final addition of a spear.  (Which we ran the whole marathon with)

After hair and make up we were on the shuttle bus waving good bye to Lucy who would meet us later with Pepinot.  

Dismounting the bus we were greeted by star trek, star wars, super heroes, aliens, and even a few of our avatar cousins!

The marathon started out in a rush of costumes-8500 people taking off towards the first wine station.  (At kilometer 7)  

We felt amazing the first half, and around the second I began hurting.  With walking, a wine tasting, and a bit of stretching we carried on.  

The final portion of the marathon was PAINFUL.  (And according to Walids garmin watch we actually ran 43 kilometers vs. the 42 marathon distance.  

All in all it was an excellent adventure...how often do you have an opportunity to run with the most famous characters of science fiction??

Crossing the finish line we were presented with a rose, medal, backpack and a bottle of wine.  Finding Lucy very quickly we headed for a glass of wine then back to the hotel to begin the removal of our blue body paint.  

Thank you all for following and your support.  Certainly during this marathon if I had not had it I may have been tempted to call it a day after the half way point.  

Lucy, Pepi, and the bump.

Morning bus ride for Avatars. 

Typical marathon start? 

Sci-fi friends.  

When Avatar met the Ironmen

Pre race acrobatics show . 

Angus overtaking superwoman. 

First wine stop at kilometer 22. (My only wine stop during the race)  

Another chateaux and wine stop.