December 4, 2017
Thanks to Lisa for the following report:
Thursday 23rd November and 7 finely tuned athletes and support headed out to the Lanzarote Running Challenge to represent Sphinx Team GBR 😉 We stopped in the sports complex Club La Santa which offers everything from kayaking and mini triathlons to morning gymnastics, making for a busy timetable. We took part in four races over consecutive days. The only thing that was missing was the Mitch Timms rigorous timetable which left more time for sun bathing. Despite the heat, standing next to Victoria ‘Mariah’ Hand is enough to make anyone look white. Day one brought us the Vince Regan Memorial 10k, starting and finishing on the track with 3 laps of the lagoon inbetween it looked a great course but the winds were a little disrupting although it did assist in places. Day two was the epic Ridge run which saw us head up onto the Lanzarote’s famous volcanic ridge whilst we battled the strong Lanzarote wind once again. The effort was worth it as we were rewarded with spectacular views of the Island and water!. It was nearly man down as ‘Eggman’ Steve Colbourne fought off the wind at the top. The 3rd race saw us travel to Puerto del Carmen for the challenging Beach 5k where Eggman and Craig performed remarkably well given their off the scale performance in the club the night before. It also saw ‘Craigy’ Spencer storm to a victory finally beating me by over a minute. So day 4 of the International Running challenge and after 5 days of battering our bodies there was just the ‘Half’ marathon to go and according to some, this was the race that mattered! Antipiation was high as we travelled toTinajo and gathered for the finale . As we set off in the intense heat, reality hit just how far we had to run in this; on the plus side this also meant that tonight was party night! At around 6 miles I was fortunate to have made a running buddy who later became my ‘guide’ as I nearly went off course twice! Together we stormed to the end with one polite request, that she let me run on her left! I was grateful for the company as I’m not a fan of distance running and it felt challenging after 10 miles . Lanzarote wouldn’t be Lanzarote without the annual dislocation of Steve’s shoulder, which is almost as delicate as his eggs. I’d never seen a bandage look so good as he made his way to the finish like a true champion. After our 300 metre finish on the track we all gathered to cheer in the others and later headed off to the lagoon in search of its healing properties. The half wasn’t enough for the Pears who later went off to take part in a stand up paddle board race with Craig coming a respectable 2nd and also grabbing 3rd in the kayak race. With 24 hours to go this was where the holiday really started as incapacitated athletes struggled together, united to make it to the bar for their next fix. Fast forward a few hours to the big group meal which led to copious amounts of alcohol, gin and lager. In time this allowed us to dance like no one was watching and pave the way for fun at the ‘Discotech’. This place really has something for everyone, from Aerial ‘abomination’ to ‘Street Dance’ this holiday can be as serious or as fun as you want it to be! A big thanks to the support crew, and Jane Pears I haven’t forgotten your drunken promise to run with me and look forward to see you Thursday!
Results: https://www.clublasanta.com/en/sports/results/results/international-running-challenge-results
Pos
Name
10km
13km
5km
Total
74
Bryan Pears
0:45:09
1:07:04
0:26:43
2:18:55
93
Steve Colbourne
0:47:26
1:12:21
0:26:28
2:26:14
114
Phil Wilson
0:49:42
1:16:43
0:28:39
2:35:03
127
Craig Pears
0:49:30
1:21:56
0:31:45
2:43:10
128
Criag Spencer
0:53:18
1:19:50
0:30:58
2:44:05
Pos
Name
10km
13km
5km
Total
42
Lisa Abbott
0:47:53
1:15:01
0:32:55
2:35:48
77
Victoria Hand
1:05:14
1:43:57
0:38:27
3:27:36