Tour de 14eme

I ran a 10km road race today, sponsored by the Mairie (City Hall) of the 14th Arrondissement. Though it was pretty damn chilly at the beginning, I chose to brave the cold with shorts & a T-shirt anyways. Just like cross-country skiing in Minnesota, you fortunately warm up pretty fast. Oh yeah, and I wore two pairs of underwears just to prevent my nuts from getting cold. The route went all through the 14th arrondissement (where I live), winding through a bunch of small streets that I had never seen before, which was cool. We also ran by the Tour Montpartnasse (the only "gratte ciel" = sky scraper in Paris) before ending up at the Mairie of the 14th to finish. Here's a picture of me flashing the "V for Victory" sign towards the end of the course that Claire was able to take as I finished.

Whenever I run these things, I'm always impressed by the sheer variety of the participants. Runners come in all shapes and sizes, and it's not always easy to predict which ones are the best. Sometimes I'll get passed by 60-year-old grandpas, while other times I'll cruise past those younger than me all decked out in the latest high-tech running gear. I guess it speaks to the astounding variability of human life.

Going to Rennes later today. Catch you later.