We very nearly didn’t get here, as we got an email on Wednesday afternoon (while I was merrily pootling round the NEC at the Caravan and Motorhome Show) to say our flight from Luton on Friday lunchtime had been cancelled. Shake-and-run immediately contacted our agent, but decided they were useless so went ahead and booked a Jet2 flight from Birmingham at 5.55am on Thursday, plus a hotel for the extra night, as ours was fully booked. By this time, it was 4.30pm so Mr Sandie and I drove back home to Lincoln, had something to eat, I packed my bag and drove back to Stratford-upon-Avon for a very short night’s sleep until Mr Shakes took us to the airport.
Anyway we decided that every cloud and all that. We had almost 2 extra days to explore. On Friday we went off to race HQ to collect our t-shirts, bibs and registration goody bags (water, beer, nibbles, blister plasters 😂).
After another day of sightseeing, it was a 5.15am alarm call as we had to be on the vaporetto to the port to catch the transfer coach between 6.30 and 6.50am. That went quite smoothly, but, oh my, the queue for the loos was horrendous. 30 minutes, so I didn’t get my planned espresso.
We had entered the ‘non competitivo’ 10k because we didn’t need med certs and there seemed to be thousands of us. It took about 25 minutes to get over the start line and then, for the first 4k we were following the monorail track across the causeway from the mainland onto the island. During the first bit there were as many walkers as runners and we had to do quite a bit of weaving and lots of ‘scuses’. By this time it had got light and the sun was trying to break through. Once on the island, the route went through the docks (not the prettiest) and then the bridges started. Thankfully they had all been furnished with ramps so that we didn’t have to go up and down the steps. There was an amazing temporary bridge across the Grand Canal especially for the event. Along the edge of the lagoon, then turned into St Mark’s Square, where there were a few more spectators, around the square, completed the crossing of 14 canal bridges in total, the last of which was something of a traffic jam, and a sprint finish to the end by Garibaldi park. My 10k time was 1.07.25, which was 10 seconds quicker than Spitfire. Very happy 😃 Total course length 11.14k in 1.15.30. Apparently it isn’t a measured 10k because it goes from race HQ in San Guiliano park to the finish line for the 10k, HM and Marathon, which are all on today, starting a different times in different places but all finishing in the same place. When in Italy!
Collected the bling and finishers’ goody bag - more beer, water, fresh fruit, protein bar, nibbles and arnica gel 😂 Free massages were also on offer, but the queue was humongous so we skipped it and caught the vaporetto back to the hotel. Now for a shower, then go and find a nice lunch.
The race was definitely not great for speedy runners due to narrow walkways, ramps (and walkers), although I don’t know if the competitive race would be better, as they do have pacers (not sure how they manage the distance issue 🤷♀️), but it was great fun and, of course, there is the advantage of, as it turns out, 4 nights in La Serenissima. Thank you Venice 🇮🇹 we’ve had a blast 😃😃
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Sandie1961
Graduate10
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Sounds lovely despite the iffy start with the flights. A good run report - am sure it will help others to decide whether this is for them or not. When I saw you were going to Venice to run I was really jealous - I think if you arent looking for a competitive time, it would be a lovely choice. Well done for getting there and doing it!
Thank you 😊 I suspect the competitive 10k may have been more of a race and I think the HM and marathon are fully accredited, although they all have the same final 10 (or 11)k, but, as a first timed race outside the UK, it was fab!
Wow Sandie1961 ! That’s quite an adventure all round - well done you. How lovely to be able to spend some extra time there as well. Great photos, a great run, and a great post. 😊😊😊
Thank you 😊 Absolutely loved it and it was my first time in Venice since I came here when Interrailing as a student in 1981 😳 so we visited all the sights and partook of the local fare too (Aperol Spritz anyone?) 😂
It has been brilliant Cheeky. Just so many wonderful memories, seen all the sights, lovely hotel, great food and Aperol Spritz by the Grand Canal. Lovely ☺️
I have yet to visit Italy !😱 I have been to Sardinia where I found the people warm and friendly and very pleased at my attempts to get by in Italian, all gleaned from phrase books and O level Latin!. Now supplemented by Montelbano.
Your travel arrangements would have finished me off before I got to the start line!
So all I can say is “respect “ to both of you!! Sounds like a wonderful experience. 🙂
It’s been 41 years since I came to Venice as a student Inter-railer and it’s not a country we’ve visited since. Mind you, there are probably many times more non Italians in Venice than Italians and it is absolutely heaving just now. I have to say it was thanks to Shakes we got here though. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. We have seen and done so much. Now I need to go home for a rest 😂😂
Glad your adventure worked out so well in the end Sandie1961 , and I like the sound of the finishers' goody bag, especially the beer and the arnica gel!
It has been wonderful. The goody bags were probably the best I’ve had, especially as we got one when we collected our race numbers and another when we finished 😃😃 Mind you the race t-shirts are definitely made for toned torsos, as they are very stretchy but very close fitting 😳
We has already decided before we went that we just wanted to enjoy ourselves and have fun, so the organisation just added to that. I really don’t want such an early start again though 🥱
What a wonderful adventure you two have been on. Will you make it? Won’t you make it? You had us on tenterhooks. But nothing can stop you doing what you’ve set your mind on.
As you say, it sound rather chaotic, but that is a really good time for 11km even without all the obstacles in your way.
I hope you had the lovely lunch you both deserved. 🍕 🍷
It has been absolutely brilliant. We have seen and done so much in addition to the race, it has been a proper break. Lunch was lovely - scallops and scampi for starters, then fried mixed fish with vegetables and gelato, plus a nice chilled glass of wine. Let’s hope EasyJet gets us home tomorrow 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻I’m ready for a rest 😂😂
Sounds like you had a good time Sandie! Italy is our favourite holiday destination (usually the Lakes, but most recently Tuscany) and your experience of slightly haphazard organisation, but very enjoyable , chimes with ours - you just need to go with the flow !
We had a brilliant time JP. 75000 steps over the weekend in total too. Visited all the main sites, rode around on vaporettos, ate fresh fish and drank Aperol Spritz in the sunshine by the Grand Canal 😍
Fabulous report there Sandie which I was really looking forward to reading. What a great place to run and, of course, it would not be Italy without a smattering of chaos thrown in. I was last in Venice in the 70s and remember it very well. You approached it in the best way possible too, and despite the nature of the course, you got an amazing time. Well done 👏
Thanks Brian 😊 I was really pleased with my time although I wasn’t chasing a time, I just wanted to soak up the atmosphere and look at the scenery. And of course we had a longer than expected sightseeing weekend too 😍
Fantastic - we went to Venice in September, like you I hadn't been since I was interailing as a teenager. Reading your post and looking at all the photos made me feel like we were back there again. We didn't follow your good example and spent most of our time there eating and drinking coffee watching the world go by, although we did walk for miles. It would have been great fun to see all the runners going by, up and down all the bridges. Thanks for sharing your adventures - made me smile 😀
We did plenty of eating and drinking too - coffee during the day, Aperol Spritz in the evening. Well, we’d have been the odd ones out if we hadn’t 😂 It was great!
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10k run done slowly in sun..😎
Got there in the end! 10k 🥵
Tatton Park 10k - Pretty Bling! 😃🏃♀️🏅❤️
Yey hey! My first 10k!!!!
