2018 Season: Part 2

[Bierzo Baggie]

At the risk of converting this space into an injury diary I return to ground zero. 

I’m back in the picturesque village of Peñalba where the race had started some 3 and a half hours ago. I’m sitting on the race podium with an ice pack crudely tied to my right ankle waiting for Wild Oscar my travel companion to finish. Next to me is The Mighty Capello who has already finished. In fact The Mighty Capello, a small wiry man in his 50s, has finished second and will soon stand on this very podium to receive his prize of assorted meat products. Capello’s secret? Working an allotment the size of a small farm and being kept active by a physical job whilst being blessed with the natural hardiness of the Capello family genes. 

Oscar finally arrives tired but happy and with good reason. This was his first race after 4 years of niggling injuries. Gym work and muscle strengthening exercises has been the secret of Oscar’s return to fitness and healthy running. As my ankle swells and reddens it starts to resemble the spicy pork haggis which Cappello has just been awarded.
Suspect that my own journey back to fitness will be a long one too.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ND8ui2FG6qM95DSo7

There was a time when I felt many of these races were passing by unrecorded and unremarked which is why I started taking photos whilst I was running. This is no longer necessary. Even the most low-key events these days will have several photographers perched in strategic locations taking high quality photos of everybody and anybody. 
The 8 photos above tell the story of my 11th and unfinished Tebaida Berciana.