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Trying to maintain a regular schedule of exercise can be tricky when travelling abroad. The extreme change in time zones can not only leave one feeling less energetic, but there can be a lack of time to maintain this regime because travellers try to cram as much into each day to ensure nothing gets left out of their sightseeing plans. Myself included.
So when I decided to enter a 10 km road race in another continent, my friends and family all thought I was nuts. Even some local residents thought this to be odd and questioned my decision. But, I digress. I happened to be on a fitness kick when I researched the race online and I thought of it as a way to keep up my fitness regime travelling overseas. Plus, who else can say they competed in a road race on a vacation in another country? I mean, this is no irregular feat for the hard core marathoners, but for a small time "fun runner" this is not the norm. I registered and ran the Kronberg ( near Frankfurt) 10km. I reached my goal of completion under one hour.
Now, what I failed to realize was the extreme differences in the culture and atmosphere surrounding the race. At least, compared to what I am used to. I was in the minority in two instances:
· While warming up, most of the athletes were warming up and stretching while smoking a cigarette. What? I was always under the assumption that regular smokers had less lung capacity. So why would anyone start their race after a nicotine fix? I am not a smoker so this blew my mind. I think this is odd.
· At the finish line, after completing their cool down and stretching, the runners head over to the refreshment stand to order a beer. What? Again, I always thought after running you should replenish your body with electrolytes and vitamins. Who knew beer would be an alternative? This was such an odd thing to see. I think there would be more people registering for 10km road races if this was the norm in North America.
A race to remember. An experience to remember.
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