20K of Brussels, 40th anniversary but first time for me

40 years of history was celebrated this year. Therefore King Filip would do the start himself (vs. running it what he did a few times before...). The race was known to be sold-out months before the start. As for this race, I was not subscribed upfront, I decided to give the organisation a call last Friday to see if I could still join...

Pre-race venture

Train to the race - commuting was longer than the run (even one way...)

I have to admit, a very friendly lady helped me on the phone but it came across as quite strange that it would not be possible to subscribe on the day itself. If I wanted to start, I needed to go to the start - in person - on Friday of Saturday! Quite a hassle, but anyway... And the real challenge to me was on how to get there on race day. If they expect 35000 runners apart from supporters, I thought it wouldn't be a good idea to go by car. But the alternative took some commuting time. Car from Merelbeke to Aalst, train from Aalst to Brussels Centraal, metro from Brussels Centraal to Merode and then by foot to the start. Door to door: 2 hrs one way. But we were there and would start - probably on time 😉

The Way to the Start

A lot of runners, that showed just before the start where there was a lot of queuing to go to the place where you could leave your bags. It was scary to see how low on security this part was. Just leave your bags with your valuable belongings open and free in the museum without any check. Luckily I have faith in the running community for not stealing but I really hope no one with bad intentions like in Boston has any plans today. And a lot more queuing to get to our designed starting box. With quite some runners who tried (and succeeded) to pass the queue with the explanation that they needed to start now... Well didn't we all? But from there, the start, it was lovely!

The race

We heard the big canon sound to announce the start of the race. We were not at the start yet, but no worries - timing chip and being late has also got advantages sometimes... We arrived on Box 2 just when everyone left (including King Filip) and that meant that at the start, we had a lot of space! It was like we were running with the pros, not passing a lot of people because you are faster, not getting passed by a lot of people because you need to find your pace, not hitting the one left, right and in front because it is too crowded, no.... just an easy start and enjoy the atmosphere!

100m in the race and they tried to push us to the wrong direction...

And there was a lot of atmosphere! If I have to remember this race, it is because of 1) you pass places where you normally are having lots of traffic with the car but most of all 2) because of the ambiance. Numerous bands, DJ's, drumming ensembles,... and a lot of supporters. This always gives me a boost while running. But allow me to come back to the places where you normally can not run. Great to be able for once to run through the tunnels of the inner ring in Brussels for once! Although it is quite challenging to have this at the beginning of the run: downhill, tunnel, uphill. Very easy to spoil quite some energy here - and then there is another 15K to run!

A big thanks to the refreshment stops along the way. Maybe a little bit too much plastic, but I really loved the bottles provided by SPA! With this, you can drink while you are running. That is not always the case when you are given cups to drink from... To me that is always a lot of water on me but not really in my mouth. I am looking forward however to what was given during the London Marathon: Edible Water Bottles.

Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2019

So great run so far and I will remember passing the official start of the Tour de France 2019! Everything prepared already, all in yellow, lots of people and lots of noise. It was a very nice place to run by. The last kilometers where uphill, and there I think we still passed quite some participants - although we were almost passed by the pacer of 1:45 (but he started a bit after us...). After a quick chat, I discovered that he was also pacing at the Great Breweries Marathon for the 4:15 time... so I must have seen him... we exchanged some experiences and he gave me the courage for the last kilometer uphill. You see the finish from far, but don't be mistaken - it is still a long way to there...

But we finished in 1:47. A 20K Duo Run with Bram... Thanks for the company and the chats. It always flies by a lot faster when you're having fun! Taking the medal and some goodies - well deserved. One of the goodies was a small deodorant - I have to admit - one of the best goodies at that time! Time for changing, getting our bags and going back home. It was a nice run and a nice experience. Have a look at the video below!