Bonjour.

September has arrived and the holidays are done and dusted for another year. This is probably my favourite month as things settle back into the routine of school and the weather is pleasantly mild, excellent for trail running. I do enjoy the break of getting down to the south of France for a few weeks and watching the kids launch themselves into the sea with reckless abandon, but the heat just gets to me after a while. The rest of the family are usually bronzed within days whilst I hide my lobster red flesh under my trusty parasol. Even running becomes hard, the area around our apartment was completely flat and during the day it was very difficult to pound the pavements without over heating. I always went early at around 4am but it was still not the same as being on the trails, don't get me wrong watching the sun rise over the sand dunes as the Mediterranean is bathe in light is wonderful. But after a while it becomes.... unremarkable I guess. (Luckily my daily games of tennis with Alicia kept me on my toes) On the trails its the challenge of the terrain, the split second decisions at a crossroads or the demands on both body and brain to be one step ahead every time.

Now that I am back and counting down the last four weeks before the 24hr race I will be getting down to some serious trail binging starting tonight. The local club is having its inaugural trail race this Sunday and they have picked a really challenging route which I am quite pleased about. Its nice to meet some runners from the town see what everyone has been up to. It also helps to further bolster the great running community here in Viroflay. But most of all its a chance to push myself and get a training race under my belt for the 24. I will be increasing my time on the road on the build up as well as throwing in some speed work sessions and reporting on all of the above. There have also be some developments in the area of sponsorship and will be pleased to announce all once the final few details have been put in place.

The website has also been given a bit of a revamp with some new colours and we will be adding some new photos soon too so keep an eye on it. I have received a lot of e-mails recently from people looking for advice and direction about starting running or going from 5k races to half marathons. This is so heartening as if one person has taken it up through these blogs/sites then it's been worthwhile in my eyes. Everyone has it in themselves so what have you got to lose.

See you round the bend.

Mally.