Brugge Veterans 10K 2002

Sunday 23 June

A party of ten travelled to Brugge for the final running of the annual Veterans Grand Prix races. The 10k and 25k events were run in hot and sunny conditions on Sunday 23^rd June.  Our members, who all opted to run the 10k distance, turned in some good performances despite the far from ideal conditions. Pete Furness equalled his P.B. for 10k, Paul Evans had a good run, finishing in 52 mins. Tony and Margaret Newman both finished together within the hour, Margaret out sprinting Tony to cross the line first. Bill Hart, running for the first time since his knee operation, surprised us all with a 62 minute finishing time. Pam Swadling improved her time by two minutes to that ran at Wargrave a few weeks ago, and Kay Tarrant, running the 10k distance for the first time, finished strongly overtaking several other runners in the finishing straight. I managed to maintain my form of late with a time of just over 45 mins.

The post race celebrations were second to none, the poor barman at the Don Quixote Bar didn’t quite know what had hit him when we finally left at 2 am in the morning. When a group of what appeared to be quiet, well-behaved veteran runners came into his empty bar, he must have thought he was in for a quiet night. WRONG !!!!!! We ended up drinking enormous amounts of lager and vodka, not in the same glass I hasten to add. Pam was asked to refrain from dancing on the table, Tony Newman was, well , Tony Newman. The place was really rocking and a great time was had by all. It really is a shame that this event will not take place again.

The owners of the hotels and bars of Brugge obviously hope that it can be resurrected, as they will lose a lot of trade. They say it ain’t over till it’s over, but sadly as I made my way to the station to start the journey home, I heard a fat lady singing... Report by Brian Matthews

2001 Report

Sunday 24 June 2001

The Brugge Veterans Grand Prix is a very friendly and well organised event, attended by veteran runners from all over Europe, with the largest contingent coming from the U.K.  The weather on the morning of the race was hot and sultry, most competitors put running a fast time, low down on their list of priorities.

The figure of eight course is as flat as a pancake, and is run on the virtually traffic free country lanes of Sint Andries on the outskirts of Brugge. There is a particularly pleasant section through the wooded lanes of a nature reserve, even more appreciated this year as it offered protection from the hot sun. The route is very well marshalled and there are two drink stations en route. The last 200 metres are run inside the Jan Breydal Stadium, an impressive 25,000 all seater stadium which is the home of Club Brugge F.C. The stadium also acts as race head quarters and provides excellent changing and toilet facilities, spectators are allowed inside to watch the finish of the races.

Paul Evans took advantage of an unplanned "pit stop" by Tony Newman, overtaking him and managing to stay ahead over the last few kilometres to finish in a time of 49:58  with Tony a short distance behind in 50:08. Margaret Newman finished in fine style, sprinting the last 200 metres around the football pitch to finish in 58:56. Pam Swadling consolidated her recent form, looking easy and relaxed in a time of 64:42. I finished in 43:35, having just managed to outrun the 1st  Male Vet 70 in the final kilometre. We all had a great time in Brugge and we will definitely return next year.

On a sad note, the event is now struggling to find a sponsor and next years event will  probably be the last. As Brugge will be the European City of Culture next year accommodation will be hard to find, and we will need to book early. If any club members are interested in next years race, let me know as soon as possible.