The Marathon du Médoc

I've wanted to do the Marathon du Médoc for a few years now and finally persuaded my brother to come along with me. It's billed as "le plus longue du monde" because of the 20+ tastings as you pass the châteaux around the course, along with the oysters, Bayonne ham, steak, cheese and ice-cream in the last three or so miles. 90% run it in fancy dress. This year's theme was the circus, so we (obviously) went in costumes that were totally unrelated, my brother as Elvis and me in a penguin suit. It looked good on the website but was thick, black and generally highly unsuitable for running on a sunny day in Southern France.

The course was spectacular and the 'race' was great fun but it was somewhat slow going given the frequent refreshment stops. We got round in 6h20, 10 minutes before the course was officially shut, having drunk and eaten at every station that was serving things along the way. I was pleased this morning that the race, the drinking and the ridiculous costume hadn't taken too much out of me. My legs aren't too stiff, which is a marked contrast to my only other marathon, London in 2006, although my time then was considerably better!

Extra photos, for the extra dedicated, can be seen here. Respec' to my bro for keeping me company and making it round to the end; also to the guys at Gruaud Larose for providing what I think was the best wine of the day.