Exactly one year on from my triumph in the Edinburgh marathon, I signed up to run a 6k run in my new hometown, Brussels. Walking down to the race, alone in the sunshine, I felt strangely nostalgic, remembering all the races and the preparation that I did last year and how great the Marathon Day had been.
The Flagey 6k race started in Brussels' famous Place Flagey, home to a very cool arts centre and cinema and also to Cafe Belga, a hang out for cool kids and one of the only places I have encountered in the city that doesn't have table service.
Before the start there was a great carnival atmosphere and a group warm up which involved a lot of jumping up and down, making me pretty sweaty before the race had even started...
A whistle sounded and off we went, through the blow up start line and around the Ixelles Ponds. The route comprised of two 3k loops.
The Étangs d'Ixelles are two long, skinny ponds separated by a narrow strip of road. It was hot and running down one side of the lakes we were going up hill and directly in to the sun. Not good, especially on the second lap.
At the base of the lakes, the run took us through the grounds of the Cistercian Abbey de le Cambre, founded in 1196. The gardens are immaculately manicured and part of the building now housees a visual arts school, while some of the other bits are used by the Belgian Geographical Society.
The finish was great, running through the blow up arch, directly on to the Place Flagey. There was a live band playing covers of The Beatles' Back In The USSR and a stand selling beer for Eur1.50. I was tired, but I got to thinking I could get used to running in Brussels...
Ran: 6km in thirty minutes and 41 seconds
You can see my time, by clicking here
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