Saturday, August 06, 2016

La Transe Gaule 2016 :(

Well, our news is sad, and not a little depressing. With less than a week to go until the race gets underway, both Claire and I must abandon our Transe Gaule 2016 running plans.

We have both been dealing with a number of medical issues - Claire with digestion (oesophagus) problems, plus hip and leg pains; me with various surgery issues, plus knee and leg vein problems. The 6-day Étoile Savoyarde race went OK for me last month, but running for 13 more days could prove difficult and dangerous. Now that we're both 61, we've decided with great regret not to take risks with our health.

We still plan to take the Plymouth ferry to Roscoff on Sunday to see everyone at the start on August 9th, and we will also fly to Gruissan to see the finish on August 27th, but we will return to England in between those dates for some more surgery.

We're both very disappointed that we will not be part of the TG peloton once again, but will be with the 50 runners in spirit as they wend their way from the north to the south of France. Getting old really isn't loads of fun, we're finding. We're consoling ourselves with a trip to Lake Tahoe in October where we plan to run significantly shorter distances around the lake with some Austin friends.