Answer:
It all hangs on the Paris ColmarThe French ultra
race walking scene has been the mainstay of European 24hour/200km racewalks for decades, culminating in the famous Paris-Colmar.
Only a handful of British walkers have
succeeded in the the PC - all Centurions (naturellement).
We have all cut our teeth on the PC circuit - not necessarily to qualify
for the PC, but just simply to "enjoy" the 24hour/200km experience. Even
as training for our own "100".
The Paris Colmar has already been
cancelled (a couple of years ago) for lack of sponsorship, and it seems
that the 2009 event will be transformed from the usual endurance race as
we know it, to a stage race cum relay. (the 2008 race went ahead, but
there was no prize money as promised, which in turn led to a severe lack
of entrants).
And, almost unbelievably, Vallorbe 2008
was cancelled at the last moment! What is happening? Vallorbe, since it's introduction to
the PC circuit (when Sandra did an impressive world best, I might add)
has been a well attended race. Not the easiest of circuits with a big
hill in the middle- but fantastic scenic course and well supported.
Paris Colmar 2009
The entry form for Paris-Colmar 2009 has been published
and it would seem that the men's race is in total 227,4km and the ladies
is 184,7km.
It looks like it is a stage race rather
than a continuous race, starting as usual on Wednesday (both men and
women) with a prologue and then continuing from Neuilly s/Marne for a
further 28km (men) and 15km (women).
Thursday and Friday consists of 3 stage
races (men) and 4 stages (women) ranging from 5km to 39km. It looks as
though the start and finishes are in different locations. Saturday is a
straight 53km stage to Colmar.
Mmmmm. I hear you say.
Hardly worth getting out of bed for, let alone paying a fortune to get
over to France with camper vans and entourage of supporters.
In fact, it could be done with a small
support team in one car/camper van. Obviously hotel costs enter the
equation if using a car.
Get in touch if you want to know more:
kathy.crilley@tiscali.co.uk
As at November 11th 2008, no further details were known at the race La
Voie Sacree..
24 hour relays
However, to mitigate their losses (so it would
seem) the French have not only cut down on the number of PC qualifying
races, but have changed the 200km PC qualifiers to 24 hours (except
Roubaix which still remains 28 hours- but how long will this last?).
In fact, why call a 24 hour race a P-C
qualifer, when the actual P-C race is less than a 24 hour event.
In addition they have introduced relay
races as part of the package.
No bad thing on the face of it. If you can't face a 24 hours race -
get a team together to do a shorter distance. This also introduces
newcomers to the world of ultra/24 hour racing.
On the down side, of course, it is a
big let out for those of us who want an easy ride (myself included, I
admit!)
However, having witnessed the relay
races this year at St Thibault and Roubaix - they are hotly contested!
Top racers take part (for whatever reason - using the relay as speed
training for the next 24 hour race...) and no prisoners taken!
Fly the flag....and enter a team!
watch this space
for news
Kathy C-933
In
Kevin;s words: