My first international trail race!
(aka “the Mont Blanc Intro to Nature Running Fun Run” or something like that, lol) I’ve officially run a race in Europe! I’ve officially run a race in the Alps!!
McCrae and I had already planned a trip to France for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in June/July 2019 and we planned a side trip to Chamonix, not even realizing we would be there during the Marathons du Mont Blanc. Most of the races were sold out by the time we realized it, but the 10K - billed as the “intro to nature running” - still had spots available. So, eager for adventure, we signed up to race! Sure, a 10K seems a little silly now after running ultras, but I figured any chance to hit some trails and scout out the Mont Blanc area has to be a good decision. 😉Plus we were technically on holiday, so might as well take it kinda easy, right??
On the morning we left Brighton, before the fog rolled in and swallowed the golden sunlight, there were children at a basketball camp on the concrete court and some teenagers were setting up soccer - no, football - goals by the sand volleyball court. On the rocky shore some young adults laughed and shouted, shaking brown glass bottles at each other and at the horizon.
I hardly slept on the plane ride to England. RDU to London non-stop and I was kept awake by anticipation like a young child on the night before Christmas. It was my fourth time to Europe so you’d think I’d know the drill - get some sleep or be a miserable zombie - but no, I’m batting 0.250 for getting some shut-eye on transatlantic flights now...I probably should know better than to take my vacation cues from two hundred (and three!) year old novels. Still, Brighton had a historical reputation as a place of pleasure and convalescence, and I hoped the seaside town would be a fine place for me to convalesce from my horrible jet lag.
The Duomo, the largest masonry dome in the world, is a landmark of the Florence skyline.
Which do you prefer - Florence or Rome?
