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Official Result |
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I entered the 36km Trail Les Chemins du Pastel to provide 'time-on-feet' training for the Barcelona Marathon but, when I entered, I didn't realise that the underfoot conditions offroad in the Toulouse region where the famous blue dye is produced would be so like a city centre streets. After a very cold night the temperature had risen to -5C for the start. The undulating tracks were frozen hard throughout. No sign of the expected mud.
All entrants were presented at the start with a folding cup - surely a solution looking for a problem - but drinks and the welcome soup was served in plastic cups so I was somewhat mystified by this gesture.
I was satisfied with my time of 3:02:29 but really impressed by the winning 2:12:51. The majority completed the 36km as a two-person relay so the result sheet is a bit misleading. However I did manage to finish both first and last in my age category. The after-race soup and mulled wine was good but not really up to the extremely high standards of post-trail catering to which I have become accustomed.
Results, video and photos at http://www.runningtrail.fr/
Bob