Okay, before I write about today's race I just want to give readers a quick reminder of the good cause behind our challenge.....Kidscape are a UK based charity that provide support for children that have been or are experiencing bullying or abuse. You can find out more about Kidscape in an earlier blog and donations can be made through Kevin's Just Giving Website. 
So.....back to the marathons ! Today we were in Paris. It was hot. No....that is an understatement.....it was extremely hot....about 30 degrees. Our time in Dongen showed that Kevin, high temperatures and marathon running are not a good combination so we were a little nervous about how today would go. The race was held at the Grigny Site on the southern side of Paris and we arrived on site at about 10am to meet Rachid, the coordinator of this event. It was also good that Kevin's procurement team from France were also on site today....many to run and the rest to give moral support.
All in all there were about 35 runners taking part and they all congregated in the site canteen soon after 11am for a quick pasta lunch before getting ready to run. We started the race soon after midday from outside the main entrance to the site offices and this was followed by a downhill 3km run through the town of Grigny to Les Lacs de l’Essonne which are some very pretty lakes and a nature reserve. The race then completed 9 laps of 4km around the lakes before a final run back up the steep hill and back to the site.
Everything went well for the first 3 or 4 laps but slowly the heat began to take its toll, not just on Kevin but all the runners as well. After starting out at about 4 hour pace the running speed soon dipped to about 4 hrs and 30 minutes pace which, given the temperatures, was probably a good thing.The support from the staff at Grigny and France Procurement (all kitted out in the "Allez Kevin" race tops was excellent, cheering and supporting Kevin around the laps and he kept going well.....drinking plenty of Powerade and fuelled by a steady supply of bananas and sports energy gels!
After the 9 laps it was then time to tackle the hill back to the site......which was very steep, but with the support of about 10 runners Kevin soon made it to the top. At this point we had a minor problem with the route in that there had been a major failure on a natural gas pipeline on one of the roads that we wanted to go do and this had been closed by the police. There was traffic chaos everywhere, not helped but 11 runners, 3 cyclists an Ambulance and a couple of cars trying to complete their marathon ! After a diversion of maybe 1km we did get back to the site and finished in a very respectable time of 4 hours 45 minutes 12 seconds.The huge turnout of runners and staff from the site at the finish was awesome and they put on a superb spread of food and drinks for all the runners, supporters and helpers.
Without doubt, France wins the prize so far for the hottest event, the most food and also the most runners taking part.....well done to Rachid and the team at Grigny for organising such a wonderful event.
Well, that is 5 marathons in 5 days.....and both Kevin and I are exhausted ! Well I am....and I have only been doing the coordination and planning.....goodness knows how Kevin must be feeling ! The running has certainly taken it's toll on his feet with some extremely impressive blisters on his toes !
But tonight we have a chance to have a bit of a rest as we are staying over in Paris this evening before flying to Atlanta USA (via Heathrow) tomorrow. We may even manage a beer or two ;-)
Distance travelled today: 25 km
Total distance travelled: 5200 km
Distance run by Kevin today: 42.2 km
Total distance run by Kevin: 211.0 km
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