Guadarun 2008
A Surprise Win
Bryan Sharp / 07.04.2008
Bryan and Andy can do the difficult straight away, the impossible takes them a bit longer! We picked a race, paid the cash, started the training, selected a worthy cause to run for and before we knew it, BANG, we were in Guadaloupe!
We had chosen to run together but very, very early on it was clear the heat was going to be the only deciding factor between us, so we made the difficult decision to run our own race. If we were going to run for charity we had to run to the best of our ability!
The first two days were dominated by Silvan Blin Ancel, who due to injury and fatigue waned on the third day and Bryan (a Scottish road runner, with no trail experience) scooped first place on the long Day 3 stage. This left Bryan sat in overall second with two days remaining. This was when the U.K. duo sat down and weighed up the situation. The motto of "We are just going to run the race, if we finish we'll be happy" got kicked into touch! The seemingly unachievable could be achieved, there may only be one pair of feet on the podium but it would be a joint victory.
Third place and a torn thigh muscle on the fourth day didn't look good but with some physio work and lot of determination, Bryan crossed the line in second place on the last day, winning the title in 14 hours 13 minutes and 10 seconds. A trophy for one, but a huge victory for both.
Andy's initial three races were a baptism of fire. Struggling with the heat and humidity his body denying him the fine balance between hydration and pace. Never one to be stopped by something as trivial as biology Andy fought a hard battle up the mountain on day four beating several professional soldiers in their own back yard. Day 5 another hat, another rabbit, Andy glided effortlessly round the three hills to scoop sixth place on the day and a hard fought 15th overall.
We ran the race for CLIC Sargent, if you've enjoyed reading this article please donate the cost of a pint at http://justgiving.com/bryan-andy.
This report is dedicated to Jo and Duggie, two key members of the team, thank's for your words of wisdom and being smiling friendly faces that were with us every step of the way.See All Event Posts
