Category Archives: Running

I met my first major objective of 2017, the Paris Ecotrail on 18 March. I ran this race in 2014 and finished in 10 hours and 46 minutes. At the time the Eiffel tower was being renovated so the finish was just … Continue reading →

The next section of the course continues with quite a few short hills. The course goes through the forest for the most part and is soft and easy on the feet. It was a dry track with not many rocks … Continue reading →

I signed up for the La Rochelle marathon rather late. This fall I was in good shape and some people I knew were running at La Rochelle so I jumped in. My objective was to run a 3:30 which would … Continue reading →

On my last post I forget to link to the Strava data. Here it is: And forget to mention that as I was waiting for Gaby to come pick me up, along came Thomas, powering up the hill, fire in … Continue reading →

Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you… This time the bear was the OCC that chewed me up and spit me out. But it was an unforgettable race with magnificent mountain vistas, a top-notch organization, encouraging … Continue reading →

The prestigious Marathon du Mont-Blanc I completed on 25 June was one of my major objectives of the year. This marathon is arguably the world’s most difficult with 2730m of positive elevation gain and 1700m negative over treacherous terrain. Here … Continue reading →

On April 10th I did the Jouy-en-Josas 50k trail run in 6 hours, 39 min. Officially, that was 108th place among the 140 participants. In my category, I was 21st out of 30. I am happy with that result given … Continue reading →

This is a continuation of yesterday’s post. Well, the body is back to normal now which was confirmed with a 31 km sortie last weekend. “Normal” is relative because I’ve always got that chronic big toe pain that only goes … Continue reading →

February 2016 is here and my yearly running plan and objectives exist only in my head. It’s time to write it down and commit. For cumulative distance, 2600 kilometers is the target. That’s 100 more than 2015 and works out … Continue reading →

On 19 September I ran the 62k Imperial Trail at Fontainebleau with an objective of finishing in under 8 hours. Objective met with a finish in 7 hours 53 minutes. That was good enough to be 100th overall out of about 300 … Continue reading →

This was my third attempt at the 70.5 mile (113k) Laurel Highlands Ultra (http://www.laurelultra.com/) on 13 June. In 2013 I abandoned after 46 miles and last year I successfully completed it in about 19 hours. This year the objective was … Continue reading →

This race starts in the Bois de Boulogne, crosses the Seine, over the hill at Suresnes, thru Croissy-sur-Seine, then up the final hill to finish at the Chateau de St-Germain-en-Laye. It’s about 20km. It is a fast course except for … Continue reading →

The Trail des Cerfs in the Yvelines department is a comparitively easy 50k with only about 742m of positive vertical. There are some short hills but nothing extremely arduous. It is run in the Rambouillet forest, starting at La Queue-les-Yvelines … Continue reading →

I ran the Gatinais Trail Marathon on 12 April at Maisse, France which is southeast of Paris, not far from Fontainebleau. The course goes in and around a forest which is a mix of pine and deciduous trees. There were … Continue reading →

I ran a good race from start to finish. It was a cold, overcast day with 3.5°C at the start. I met Thomas in the park at Versailles an hour before race time.   We tried to keep warm while … Continue reading →

On March 8th, the 43,000 runners had exceptional weather for the Paris half with sunny skies and 60°F. In the middle of the immense crowd in front of the chateau de Vincennes I prepared for the race with Emmanuel and … Continue reading →

I completed my first race of the year on 1 March. It was a 21 km trail race (3 Pignons) at Noisy-sur-Ecole in the Fontainebleau forest. It was mostly a flat course with sandy trails and only one short hill … Continue reading →

Here it is the middle of February and I’m just writing my 2015 objectives and plan. It’s been in my head, but, like I always say, a plan that is not written down is a plan that will fall to pieces. … Continue reading →

2014 has ended and here is the review of my year of running. To make a long story short, it was a highly successful year considering I successfully completed my three major objectives: the 80k Paris Ecotrail, the 70 mile … Continue reading →

If you ever get bored with running marathons on city streets just sign yourself up for the Marathon de Mont-Blanc. I guarantee you an unforgettable challenge over terrain best fit for mountain goats. To estimate your finishing time, just double your … Continue reading →