Jonathan has his IPod on, Wendy has fallen asleep and I can't hear the other three talking up front so I sit and dream of a 65 minute Half Marathon and a winners medal the size of a dustbin lid and two Kenyans genuflecting in awe of my ramapnt superiority. Beijing awaits. No its Bodming instead and the reality of a two hour drive and finding a car park instead of a mahogany row trip to the Orient. Funnily enough, the only place open for coffee at 8am is golden but in the shape of an arch. We'd probably have more chance of running unscathed if we had eaten raw shellfish but we had some time to kill if not our taste buds.

We park up and bare our bottoms for the good folk of Paignton as we change into probably slightly smalller kit that spent a quick 20 in the tumble drier after washing the night before. Everybody agrees they will put their tops in my bag for handing in. I was like Robert de Niro in The Mission, dragging this bag of modern day armour as my penance.
I knew Mark was running but couldn't find him although I knew he'd be up with the fast boys (the ones who couldn't keep up with me in my daydream). Up went the obligatory bouncy castle start line and we were off. Two laps of the green (just over two miles) and we could head off on out there and back twice to Torquay route. One chap improvised by deciding to cut the race to twelve miles by dropping out after half a lap of the green and joining in again on the second lap.

Its a roller coaster route to Torquay and the downhills there become the up hills on the way back. just to confuse the issue, the elite runners are going out for the second time with the really slow runners while the majority of us in the middle are going the other way. Add in cyclists blowing whistles to get you to move just as you are overtaking and it gets a bit hairy. Right on time, out comes the sun. Not a problem as there are numerous drink stations but unfortunately some are manned by eight year olds so you do miss some of the stations. The race does have the virtue of being able to meet up with your friends who are probably going in the opposite direction. Going out the second time, I see Mark at his 11 mile mark which is my 9.5 mile mark. Sorry about all the Marks there (there was Wendy and me as well of course).

Wendy tells me as I am heading home that she has cramp and is feeling like the stuff at the bottom of a budgie cage and its not grit! So am I is my answer as I miss another pre-pubescent water stop and battle with the final hills before what I imagine will be a last mile glide.

You know when you were a child and your mum said hurry up and drink your cocoa and then you're off to bed. You made that cup of cocoa stretch. I'm sure the organisers of the race remembered thier childhood when they measured the last mile. It went on and on and on until you see the clock and then realise the finishing line is 50 yards further on. Mark greets me at the finish at he's knocked off three minute from last year which is exceptional in todays conditions.
Get your goodies and meet Pat, Mike's wife, at the finishing line and cheer home the others. Jonathan checks in with a very creditable 1.54.54. It's his first race, and thats another Drew we have to look out for on the circuit.

Wendy struggles home with the cramp and Kathryn battles her way through a nose bleed. Mike shows his renowned bulldog tenacity and gets home in a time not far off a PB which is admirable under the circumstances. The compulsory chips on the prom and its off back home in the chara.
Its a lovely area and a race worth doing but don't expect a Bath or Cardiff time. There was a slight innocence to it all, a slight carnival atmosphere mixed with a bigger field so I would do it again but not after a race the night before.