Racing report from Lanzarote
09/12/2011
Ramblings in Lanzarote by Chris Mason
One of the things on my retirement 'to do list' was to take part in the Lanzarote International Challenge, which usually takes place in the last week of November. The internationally renowned Club La Santa is the base for the races and they are the main organizers. The series involves 4 races over 4 days and includes a 10k road race, a 13k ridge run, a 5k beach race and, to conclude, a 21k run, on a mix of trails and roads.
The 10k race started and finished at the excellent Club La Santa Stadium and consisted of 2 laps with a number of very sharp turns. Linda ran this in 71.46, Roger in a very pleasing 65.50, Mike in 60.21 and I recorded 40.50. Mike unfortunately experienced an injury in this race which kept him out of the latter races. Next day was the euphemistically named ridge run, which again started and finished in the stadium but involved a long climb out to a nearby volcano (think it was extinct) on dirt tracks, a circuit of the ridge and a run back down to the finish. In very hot conditions this was murder and I was glad to finish this in one piece in 54.07, while the others sensibly chose to sit this one out.
Day 3 we were bused out to Puerto del Carmen to take part in the 5k beach race. This was predominantly on soft sand and Roger and Mike had painted a fairly gruesome picture of this event that made Linda and me very apprehensive. Luckily enough, on occasions, we were allowed to run on the hard sand by the water's edge, something they'd stopped in previous years and this made things slightly easier. Linda completed in 39.15 and I ran 22.36. There was only me stupid enough to take part in the last event, the 21k, which started in a village called Los Dolores and again finished on the track. Early on there was a circuit around a volcano (very common in Lanzarote) before a predominantly downhill finish. I was very pleased and relieved to complete in 1.29.17.
4 races in 4 days is a hell of a challenge, particularly when you come from an English winter, and suffice to say I was limping like a good un at the end of the 21k. The atmosphere is terrific with the emphasis on fun although still very competitive. I was lucky enough to win 3 of the 4 races in my age group which meant I took the overall v60 prize. The only age group race I lost was the beach race by 2 secs and on this occasion I was badly distracted by other events on the beach. I won a 45 Euro voucher which resulted in me spending 75 Euros in the Club shop. Strange logic!
While we were first timers at the event our esteemed secretary Roger, whose attended the event on 21 occasions now, very helpfully showed us the ropes and introduced us to the eclectic mix of lovely people he's met over the years. All have the ability to translate the Bradford dialect and fully understand the intricacies of open heart surgery. Mike was as usual acting as Roger's minder with his main role, apart from getting Roger organized, being to get the sun bed around the pool organized. Linda and I stayed in a village called Tinajo because Club La Santa was fully booked by the time we decided to go. Tinajo is about 8km from the camp but this arrangement worked out ok. Roger, Mike and another friend were in an apartment with Roger banished to the settee. The apartment was on the third floor which necessitated Roger transporting one of the biggest trunks I've ever seen from the ground floor to his apartment. Roger and Mike were there for 2 weeks and when we left Roger was contemplating moving the trunk again to another apartment.
A great venue and a well organised event in the sun that's as fun or as competitive as you want it to be. I'm sure that the stalwarts Roger and Mike will tell you how good the event is and other members, such as Trevor Rickman and Cath Johnson, who have also been in the past will add their endorsement to how good Club La Santa and the event are. It would be great to get a group of us going next November although it would be difficult to beat the Sparta Club from Denmark who this year had over a 100 members taking part in the challenge.
Chris Mason