Archive for Courir en Normandie
semi-marathon d’Argentan [30th year]
Posted in pictures, Running, Travel with tags Argentan, Argentan half-marathon, bocage, Caen, countryside, Courir en Normandie, forêt de Gouffern, half-marathon, Insee Paris Club, M6M, Orne, road race on October 3, 2026 by xi'an
Pegasus half-marathon meltdown [01:30:07 – 245/5176 – 2/59 M6M]
Posted in pictures, Running, Travel with tags Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen, Courants de la Liberté, Courir en Normandie, D-Day beaches, Guillaume le Concquérant, half-marathon, June 1944, La Rochambelle, M6M, Normandy, Pegasus bridge, PHOTO running, poster, Ranville, Saint-Lazare, training, watermarking on June 9, 2026 by xi'an
Huge disappointment with this favourite race of mine! It is unclear what caused my underperforming this time, since I had trained regularly for two months, with many long distance runs and several intensity ones, weekly. The temperature was mild, the constant wind none too strong, but I slowed down almost from the beginning… And could not keep up with the 1h30 pacers when they passed me 5km before the finish line (even though they were running faster than the 1h30 target!). Lack of rest the final week? A fast 12km bike ride to the Saint-Lazare train station the previous day (in order to avoid the nightmare of getting back to Caen train station on race day)? Too much weight loss the last two weeks? Too long a warm-up run the same morning? Need of gels mid-race? The most frustrating is that I would have ended first in the previous category (M5M).
Amy half does Argentan [1:36:03, +29:22, 79/398, 1/21 M5+6H, 15⁰, 123D⁺]
Posted in pictures, Running with tags Argentan, Argentan half-marathon, carbon plate, Courir en Normandie, extratropical cyclone, hail, half-marathon, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, M6M, Nike Vaporfly, Nike Vaporfly Next% 4, Normandie fort et vert, Normandy, Orne, podium, road race, storm, wind on October 8, 2025 by xi'an
Argentan semi (39th)
Posted in pictures, Running, Travel with tags Argentan, Argentan half-marathon, Courir en Normandie, half-marathon, hamstring injury, M6M, Normandie fort et vert, Normandy, Orne, road race, xianblog on October 4, 2025 by xi'an
Pegasus bridge half marathon [1:26:26, 114/5227, 1/109 M5M and first over 55]
Posted in pictures, Running, Travel with tags 1000 years, bagpipes, Caen, Courir en Normandie, D Day, glider, Hoka One One, Les Courants de la Liberté, M5M, Malherbe, Normandie, Normandy, Pegasus bridge, road race, WW II on June 22, 2025 by xi'an
Tough race when compared with last year despite good weather conditions (if quite warm), and bagpipes at the start, maybe due to overtraining. I barely managed to keep my first position in the M5M category, by a mere 2s, not that I was aware of the threat to my crown! The briefly leased Hoka One One shoes did not particularly help this time (or maybe they did!). This was my last half marathon in the M5M category (if my first race on invitation) and I am thus glad I could end up on a winning note, if not on a podium since only scratch winners are rewarded that way. Hopefully, I will get re-invited for next year.
