A full mother-daughter marathon. 42.2km pushing my four-and-a-half-year-old in the buggy.
And we didn’t just manage to complete the distance, we finished in a very respectable time (3 hours 23 minutes), came 4th of all the women in the race and 1st out of all the female masters.
I am absolutely thrilled!
A family mini-break
The five of us Onns drove up to Poitiers on Thursday (the kids had two bonus days off school for the late-May “pont de l’Ascension” here in France), to spend three nights in a pirate-themed, family-friendly hotel, right at the edge of the Futuroscope amusement park. The kids LOVE being away from home and were beyond excited to check into the hotel room and go out for some Italian food.
On the Friday we spent the whole day at Futuroscope, finally dropping into bed at 11pm! I’ll have to do a separate blog post all about that. Saturday we had another fabulous, fun day out at the Vallée des Singes wild monkey park, then headed into Poitiers city centre at the end of the afternoon to collect my race number.
I was extremely nervous about Sunday. Aside from all the usual things-that-might-go-wrong when racing with a pushchair, DD had not been on good form the day before and we’d had to endure an epic meltdown in the early afternoon (brought on, I suspect, by exhaustion, not enough nutritious food and feeling a tad under the weather with a hayfever/cough combo). I was seriously worried she wouldn’t want to participate in the race, or would at some point start screaming and make me look and feel like the world’s worst mother!
Race day dawns
But I needn’t have worried. Everything went perfectly. I set my alarm for 6am and had a coffee in the room (a travel kettle is essential kit in France as it’s very rare to have tea or coffee-making facilities in hotel accommodation) before we headed over the road to a partner establishment that was serving early breakfast. I had some fruit salad, croissants and more coffee before returning to the room to finish my preparations and open the kids’ adorable cards and gifts for Mothers’ Day.
We were a little later than planned getting into the car for the 25 minute drive south to Poitiers, but I tried not to panic. Road closures meant we couldn’t get very close to the start, but my husband found a place to pull over and he got us set up with the buggy and ready to go. Hugs and kisses all round and DD I set off for the start.
Poitiers is a beautiful old city perched on top of the Clain valley. Pushing the loaded stroller up the hill to the start area was no joke! I feared what gradients the race would have in store. But we made it in time for a last quick toilet stop for DD, asked a kind stranger to take a photo and hopped into the starting pens. I decided to position us with the 3:30 runners, which seemed reasonable, and was delighted to find another buggy runner there: a dad with his daughter in a Thule Chariot no less! We exchanged a few words and then it was time to start.
The first half
We got underway easily and nipped around a few people as we crossed the Parc de Blossac, which was stunning with the morning sun shining through the trees. I noticed the other buggy runner got away well and I tried to keep him in my sights.
The first half of the route went up and down and around and about through the old city of Poitiers. I found I was zooming past people on the downhills (no brakes!) but then slowing considerably on every incline. Nevertheless, we started to hear “bravo, deuxième féminin” (second female), which was music to my ears! I knew I wouldn’t hold on to this honour, but when I’m running I always try to stay really in the moment and just soak it up and enjoy it while I’m feeling good.
A little before halfway, we also had the experience of being filmed for a good few minutes by a motorbike cameraman! I felt like an Olympic athlete, flying along, grinning my head off, feeling unstoppable.
The second half
At 22km, the race left Poitiers to head slightly east of north for the 12km drag up towards the commune of Chasseneuil-de-Poitou and Futuroscope… and the (not inconsiderable) wind was coming from, yes you’ve guessed it, the north-east! At this point we were still averaging about 4:28/km, but I knew this was unsustainable, pushing 30+kg into that wind. (If you don’t believe me, you can read the other competitors complaining about the breeze here ha ha.)
I decided not to fight the elements and to stick to my primary goal of HAVING FUN. We slowed down considerably and of course, this being a marathon, we never really recovered the pace (eventually averaging 4:47/km), but I can truly say I did not “hit the wall”.
From an energy perspective, this was by far my best marathon of the year. I don’t know whether it was the enormous buffet breakfasts and suppers I’d had on the preceding days, or the carb-loading drink I conscientiously swallowed in huge quantities for 72 hours beforehand, but I did not stop feeling strong. My in-race fueling consisted of a few glugs of water and six small jelly sweets (yes, that is ALL), so I have got to conclude my body had some good reserves. Best of all, I felt great at the end. After Albi, I spent the entire afternoon vomiting (scaring the kids silly in the process) and I was very sick post Montpellier too. It’s very satisfying to think I may have finally got this aspect of the marathon right!
After reaching Chasseneuil-de-Poitou, the route wound up and down some more as it headed towards Futuroscope and, for the second time of the day, I found myself walking (shock horror!) to push the buggy up a steep slope. I wouldn’t usually do this, but walking a few metres also provided an opportunity to have a proper drink and there really seemed no better choice when faced with a hill like that.
I can’t remember exactly when the third and fourth women overtook us (early in the second half perhaps), but I was happy to be told we were lying fourth and determined to hang on to that position for the finish. In fact, during the last hour we were constantly overtaking people and I felt so good. I never thought I’d say this for a marathon, but the miles actually flew by!
A perfect passenger
My little DD was the most perfect companion you could hope for. I’d wrapped a couple of tiny gifts for her, which she was super eager to open, so they kept her entertained for the early stages. She soon settled down to her miniature Nintendo game, a few cartoons on the old mobile phone, toys, snacks and just sitting back to observe the race.
There was one slight hiccup at about 6km when we ran over a bunch of cobblestones just as she’d opened a pot of sweeties, which of course bounced out all over the place! But she must have retrieved them from around her as my husband only found one stray when he was packing everything away for us at the end.
We also had a bit of a drama opening a little wrapped cake. DD couldn’t manage it on her own (silly slippery packet), so had to push it out of the little gap in the chariot behind her head and I proceeded to open it on the run and hand it back to her. I truly felt like a super mum at that point: flying along at 14km/hr, talking to my daughter and opening snacks all at the same time!
The finish line
DD snoozed briefly in the early stages but eventually fell deeply asleep not long before the finish. Coming up the last hill, I was so excited to see the red finishing arch in the distance and then my heart just burst when I heard my older two kids screaming encouragement and jumping up and down. Just wonderful.
Coming into the finish we got a huge announcement, loads of applause and were once again treated like some kind of sporting celebrities. 3hr23!! We received our medal and I had a temporary “4th female” sign hung around my neck. Then we were interviewed by a local news outlet too. What a feeling!
After reuniting with my husband, YY and SB (who had spent a brilliant bonus second morning at Futuroscope, thanks to the free tickets that came with the marathon entry), it was soon time to climb onto the stage for the overall female winners podium protocol. DD came with me, of course, and it was an incredible honour to stand up there together and receive some beautiful flowers, a cool glass trophy and a big bag of other goodies.
I also found out that the other buggy runner finished in 3hr14! Incredible!
After that it was time to shower, pack up the room and hit the road for the long drive home, my heart full of pride. What a fabulous day out. What a slick, well-organised and fun event. What a way to spend Mothers’ Day!
I hope my little passenger is old enough to remember some of this as, for me, this day will burn bright in my memory for a very long time.
