7 Seconds

Today was the day of the Venice Street Orienteering Race, the reason for us being in the City. It has been staged since the 1980s and is growing in popularity year on year. This year there were 4500 competitors from all over Europe and further afield. It was our first visit and eagerly anticipated.

The 'mix' is quite something: 4500 competitors running on many different courses through the narrow streets and busy squares, and across the canals of Venice at the same time and in the same space as all those tourists! The courses were carefully planned to avoid the busier streets (marked in brown on our maps) but of course you can't come to Venice without running over the Rialto Bridge so it just had to be done (twice on my course!).

This is my friend and rival Linden coming over the final bridge (someone worked out we must have crossed about forty during the event). It was her first time in the race too and we finished 7 seconds apart (24th and 25th) - it couldn't have been better sorted. The finish was in the Arsenale, on the Riva San Biagio, fantastic! Tony did well too finishing in 12th place out of 100 men on his course.

We finished off a day to remember with a gang of us going for pizza and vino rossi - moto bello!