Chariots of Fire 10k


 You've seen the film's opening shot?  A couple of figures walking on a beach beside the steely North Sea, the ancient university city of St Andrews on the skyline. 

A line of runners appears in the distance, far up the stretch of sand.


 We had our own family re-enactment of Chariots of Fire today, at the 10k of the St Andrews Running Festival. Here are husband and daughter, 3rd and 4th from the right, on the second West Sands leg of the circuit. 



No baggy white shorts and singlets as in the film; instead high performance leggings, trainers and goodness knows what else.  Also hats - in my daughter's case, MY hat, purloined at the last minute because of extreme wind-chill. Nor was there any thought of splashing barefoot through the sea - a safe distance was kept.
 


Meanwhile the other half of the family tried to keep warm and failed, and as a distraction we took photos of anything that moved and much that didn't.  My son, below, trying to capture the swirling patterns of wind-blown sand. 
 


The dunes against a darkening sky.
 

The optimistic aim of runners trying to lob their water cups and gel sachets into a litter bin. 
 

The hazard, perhaps unique to this race, of children building a sandcastle in mid-route. 


And at the end, a remarkably un-puffed looking daughter, and just a glimpse of her dad trying to keep up with her.
 


Comments

  1. great photos! I love St. Andrews and well done to your daughter and husband. Looking at the pictures, I was wondering if it is hard to run on sand.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. St Andrews is lovely in any weather, isn't it?
      The hard sand near the sea was fine to run on, they said, but near the town end the route went up off the beach through soft sand. The combination of slight uphill and soft sand was a killer.

      Delete
  2. Awesome! Congrats to E. and M.!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Will pass it on! At least they didn't have to contend with snow like you do.

      Delete
  3. Thank you! It was worth the freezing hour we spent on the beach.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So cool that your husband and daughter ran a race together! And so nice that you and your son were there to cheer them on. Good job everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  5. We had a big run here on Sunday but it was sunny and warm and it stuck to the city streets! You spectators were probably colder than the runners.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It does look like a blustery day, but what a beautiful place to run. Yes runners are bad shots. Great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  7. what a great reportage
    I like the comparison in the beginning and the family at the end
    interesting indeed
    fun that we are tackling the same subject

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts