19th Luxor Marathon

The alarm went off at 5am this morning, just enough time for me to be up and out for the 19th Luxor Marathon.

The light was spectacular, as I cycled up from the Nile towards the Temple of Hatchepsut through the fields. Balloons gracefully lifting from the scared soil and floating towards the glow of the sunrise to the East.

Felix and the gang were already there. Felix is a young chap, so much energy, a little bit naughty and has big ears! He won't be offended as he is a donkey, the ACE donkey and mascot! He was doing his bit for charity and walked in the childrens race of 5km. He leapt out of the truck and was raring to go. A few issues with a the car park policeman as he said a donkey was not allowed in, but we soon resolved this :-)

The backdrop for the start of the race is just incredible, Deir El Bahri/Hatchepsut/Hot chicken soup Temple, as the Tour Guides say! 350 people from all over the World gathering in front of this World Heritage Site, representing their Countries; British, Canadian, Korean, Egyptian, Saudi Arabian, Irish, Australian and American.

The roller bladers gathered first at the starting line, the gun was fired by Dr.Ezaat Saad signalling the start of the race. Heads down, off they skated towards the sunrise.
The runners gathered next and set their watches, all very serious and competitive. 'And they're off!'

The atmosphere was fantastic, children waited until runners passed by and then joined them for a while, some even without shoes.
Local people applauding the runners and walkers, as they jogged through this majestic, Pharoanic scenery.

The Saudi Arabians came first in the Marathon with a time of 1:13:21.

Chris Elliott from Australia, a guest vet at ACE, followed closely and came in at 1:12:36...He had ran the Half Marathon though!
Becky Parkes, also a guest vet, beat her personal best and came in at 02:08:15.

As Becky and Chris said at the end 'What a finish, heading up to the Mountain with Hatchepsut in sight'