Last weekend we ventured out to the Atlantic Coast in Brittany to
take part with some friends in a fun run around an island called 'Ille d'Artz'. The island is located a short trip from Vannes on the bus, and then of course because the place is an island, a 20 min ride on a boat in order to get there.
The Island is not very big, about 5km long and 1km wide and there are about 500 permanent inhabitants on the island who live in 5 small villages
spaced around the island. There are not very many cars on the island, most people get around on bikes, and of course everything on the island has to come there via boat. There is one small supermarket, in the main town a few scattered restaurants, a church, a town hall a couple of small hotels and that is pretty much it. Its a very slow relaxing place, and because it was not yet summer the influx of tourists was yet to occur.
A friend of ours has a lot of family on the island and owns a house there, so a large group of us who were participating in the run bunked in for the weekend to try our hand at the fun run on Saturday.
Friday night dinner, was the local delicacy of savoury crepes, which are a specialty of Brittany, made ourselves at home on a special crepe making machine. As we were feeding 12 people who were staying at the house, (and were getting ready to run the next day) about 60 crepes were made and a massive feast was had. This was followed by a visit to the local small pub in the village, to carbo-load on local beer, preparing us for the run the next day.
Saturday we awoke to slightly overcast skies and a slightly cool breeze, (we were on the coast after all) and it was pretty perfect weather for tackling a fun run. After a nice breakfast we wandered down to the start line to complete our registration and pick up our numbers, ready for the 11:30 start. Already a good crowd had gathered around the start, and by the time 11:15 came around there were around 200 participants all milling around, stretching and looking nervous about what was to come.
At 11:29 we all lined up on the start line, and at 11:30 we were off on a scenic route that took us through all of the villages along the coast and back into the centre of the island to finish at the highest point on the island (about 20m above sea level) next to the church.
There were a lot of serious runners who had made the trip over for the run, but also a lot of locals who were running also. It looked like everyone from the island who was not running was lining the streets to support the runners, which was pretty good. It is a very small island and it seems that everyone knows everyone who lives there. As I was running around, the people who were running near me were constantly greeted by spectators who knew their name and wished them good luck. Our friend's uncle was actually one of the organiser's of the race, and word had spread that there were a couple of Australian's who had come all the way out specifically for the run. I was pretty easy to spot in my Australian Soccer jersey, so received a good deal of support from the locals during the run.
After an hour and 5 minutes of busting my guts around the island, I made my way up the hill to the finish line. (Where many others had already finished). I officially came 64th in the mens race, which sounds alright, however there were only 72 entrants in the mens race so I was pretty much near the back. But it was pleasing enough to have actually finished, and I was not completely buggered or sore after which was also pleasing.
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