Race Report: Marathon du Medoc 08/09/2012 #5

Non-Race Report

Marathon du Médoc post-race recovery walk and lunch.
 

As if the punishment of 34 degrees, 26.2 miles and several wine-and-food stops on the

Saturday wasn’t enough, I decided to join the recovery walk this year.  So at 9:30am, after dropping Perry, Mik and Alan at the airport, I found myself at the gates of the Chateau Cantemerle in Macau.  (It turns out they were the wrong gates, but that’s another story involving an argument with a French sat-nav).
I followed a caterer’s lorry up a beautiful tree-lined driveway, and parked close to the food marquee.

The recovery walk itself started in the chateau courtyard at 10am and involved an 8km ramble (for 2½  hours) through the local vineyards, and five more wine tastings (we were presented with a commemorative tasting bowl for the occasion).  A great way to ease the stiff muscles, but the feet were feeling the strain by the end.

After the walk, we were bussed back to the chateau and given a cold glass of Sauternes, followed by a 3 course lunch with unlimited wine from the cask (sadly I was driving).

All-in-all it was a bit pricey (at €36), but a great relaxing experience and an opportunity to chat with loads of similarly mad people.  I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, and will be doing it again next year.

P.S. For fellow drinkers-with-a-running-problem, the wines tasted on the walk were:-

Chateau Cambon la Pelouse

• Chateau Cantemerle
• Chateau Maucamps
• Chateau Mille Roses

And

Chateau Beau Rivage.

For more information visit the website.

 

Grant