Run Day 7 - Canaples to Ailly-sur-Noye

Through Amiens and on the road to Paris

After 11 nights of uniformity and standard menus in England, each evening in France has been very different, in terms of our accommodation and our evening meal. Last evening started badly with a 2 hour wait to get into our rooms; then Valerie and Stephen were asked to move rooms and we waited until 8.30pm for the farmhouse door to open. There were 2 other British families and 3 French couples but we went into eat first and the long table in the kitchen was almost full with 17 people.

Our wait turned out to be worthwhile because we enjoyed a delicious, farmhouse-french meal with; fruit of the forest aperitif; piping hot ham and mushroom galette; free range chicken main course; cheese; cake; fruit salad and coffee, all washed down with an ample supply of red wine. The highlights of the evening were a series of descriptions by our hostess in broad French about the various attributes of her traditional farmhouse kitchen, of her village of Naourt and the Somme region. Val translated skilfully and also acted as interpreter for a complicated discussion about milk prices and farm subsidies between our hostess and the British families, who it turned out, were from Welsh farming stock. The boys slipped out around 10pm for some shut-eye and we left early around 11pm.

This morning, the Aitkens drove into Amiens to buy another ankle support for Rob and the rest of us had leisurely breakfasts with a 10.45 start to proceedings. Dan and Rob ran from the farmhouse and soon rejoined the D933 on the road to Amiens. The road was less hilly than the last 3 days and they settled into a good pace passing us at the supermarket on the outskirts of Flasselles after 6.5 miles and 1 hour. We had decided that I would attempt to jog with the boys through the pedestrianised route through Amiens city centre and I jumped out of the motor home to await their arrival. We trotted almost alongside the massive cathedral, big enough to accommodate two Notre Dame Cathedrals and turned left at the Place de Gambetta and then right to pick up the D7. By then, I was struggling and let the guys go ahead and continued even more slowly until picked up by Stephen and Valerie.

Apart from a pit stop for plasters to Dan’s ankle – wearing new trainers for the first time – Rob and Dan had run for 2 hours before their first 5 minute walk and continued at a steady pace up the gradual climb out of the city. The D7 is a busier road but with more paths and pavements than earlier stretches and they ran down the hill into Ailly-sur-Noye and up the hill and out of town before finishing in 4 hours 32 minutes – their second best time of the series. It had been a hard run but the guys seem to know what to expect and are dealing with it brilliantly. Only one more marathon on their own and then Dave O’Brien will be joining them for the approach to Paris.

Our accommodation tonight is only 1 mile away from the finish. Evening meals aren’t provided but we are all staying in a very well converted stable block with its own living area, dining table that seats 8 and well equipped kitchen – we have the food, the cooks and the vin so we’re eating in.