Cyprus International 4 Day Challenge - Race 1

After a day and a half of acclimatisation in the heat of the Cyprus sun, Thursday was the day when things started to get serious. A packed briefing at 1pm was attended by virtually all of the 250 participants and it was declared that this was a record year for the number of countries represented ranging from Scotland to Australia along with most European countries in between and the USA and Canada completing the mix. Usefully, the race numbers had a map showing all 4 race routes on it (what's a map for I hear certain members of the Harriers asking!). I was assigned number 4, not due to any ranking but purely on the basis of alphabetical order by first name.

The first race started at 3pm in the heat of the afternoon sun and was a 6km individual time trial point-to-point from the hotel along the coast road to the site of a shipwreck in a bay. Was this an omen for things to come. Runners were set off at 10 second intervals in race number order meaning that I would have only 3 to chase and a lot of runners chasing me down. I was however thankful that my name was not Zack as there would have been a lot of waiting around.

Race start in the bay in front of the hotel

Heart pumping, I lined up and awaited the countdown (unlike the similar format Auldhouse time trial, there were no midges to bother about). 30 seconds after the first runner, I was set off by former London Marathon winner and event organiser, Mike Gratton. A winding uphill km took us around the hotel and away from the coast initially. A cautious start was called for as there were also some long uphill drags at the end and this was only day 1 of 4 in a row. Within the first few hundred metres I had passed number 3. Due to the twisty course, 1 and 2 were initially out of sight. However by the time we were back on the main coast road, I could see them both ahead, first passing number 1 and after a few km easing past number 2. A short while later I heard a fast approaching runner and a young lad shot past me (number 6). Thereafter it was a lonely old run with no other runners to catch or passing me. The course zig zags to and away from the coast several times, descending between the banana plantations to the coast before climbing back up the other side. It certainly is not a flat course but not hilly enough to give you an easy ride on the downhills. By the 4th km I was bursting with the heat and slowing a bit. At the 5km mark the course turns away from the coast for the final time to do a loop around the finishing area which is in some rough ground on the edge of the cliffs. As this is a 4 day challenge, there is no point sprinting to the line so I just kept it steady and cruised through in 22:44 noting that this revised course (due to road works) was about 130m long.

At the finish - wrecked but not as badly as the ship

After a half litre of water and one of the plentiful local bananas, I jogged back to the 5.5km mark to cheer on former Harrier Jimmy Stewart who had started at number 83. After Jimmy passed, I jogged the 2.5km back to the hotel via the most direct route and did the usual stretching routine on the beach (don't think I am slacking out here!).

Stretching - its tough but it has to be done.

No results out yet but as this event is based on cumulative time over all 4 races, it is hard to draw any conclusions from this, the shortest of the 4 races. The M50 category is my only realistic target as I noted that there were some very fast guys from the local RAF base "flying" over the final km without the aid of an aircraft.

Tomorrow morning is the 11km uphill trail race starting on a beach and finishing in a mountain village. The mayor of the village has very kindly suggested an alternative trail this year (a safer route for the medical support vehicles) which is a few hundred meters shorter but has 70m more ascent. Nice of him.

STOP PRESS - results are now up. I'm holding a slender 3 second lead in the M50 category over a Swiss runner and am 16th overall. This is going to be a tight one! Full live results service is here: https://www.resultsbase.net/event/3794/results?round=8106

Alan