The Dramathon and Whisky
The whisky-themed running competition-The Dramathon, started three years ago and is held every October in Speyside, Scotland. I participated in its 10km race for the first time the year before. It is the first time in my life that I participated in a running race overseas.
At that time, I had made sufficient preparations beforehand as I participated in a race two weeks before the departure, purely for strengthening my endurance , and I finished the race faster than my expected time .However, in the day of the race in Speyside , the temperature is close to 20 degrees though Scotland had already stepped into autumn, together with the rain dropped the night before, the natural track was muddy all over. To make things worse, I brought the wrong running shoes, I feel exhausted when I ran less than half of the distance. Luckily, I was able to complete the whole course in the end. The finishing time is longer than expected.
As long as the runner finish the whole race, every contestant can get a medal made from old oak barrels, and some whiskeys samples that belong to the district. When I went back to the Highlander Inn for a short break. I enjoyed the drink again at the bar ! With the experience of the last time, I joined The Dramathon 2019, running for 10 kilometres and the route remains the same. Hundreds of contestants from all over the world started from Aberlour, running along the path next to River Spey. After passing Craigellachie, we run into a pathway seems like a forest road, the sun shone through the gaps between the trees, like a muddy road with no end. This time I didn’t do enough practice, and my condition was not as good as last time, but the cold weather helped a bit and I wore the right shoes for natural roads, the finishing time was unexpectedly even faster than the last time.
After the race, I went to the the Glenfiddich distillery , lying down on the grass and sipping its 12 yo whiskey , it was my reward for this competition. I couldn’t book a nearby accommodation and I planned to have cheese and beer at Black Isle Bar before having seafood meal at a local restaurant, then I drank two glasses at a nearby whisky bar. The next day early in the morning, I have to fly south to London.
I gave myself a wish at the time: the next time I will come again for the competition but I will choose to run the half-marathon. Unfortunately , the Wuhan pneumonia was broke out. At the time of writing, Europe was slowly untied and gradually unblocked, and the football game reopened, but the competition must be held behind closed doors. Whether The Dramathon in October will be held as scheduled is still unknown. Scotland is my favourite place. I like their lamb and seafood. Of course, their whiskey is my favourite too.
As the saying goes, the road to recovery may be long, but I firmly believe that it will always getting better and better. See you in Speyside two years later.
The Dramathon：https://www.thedramathon.com
以威士忌為主題的跑步比賽 - The Dramathon，由三年前開始，每逢十月在蘇格蘭Speyside舉行，筆者在前年首次參加其10公里比賽，這是我人生中，第一次在海外參加跑步比賽。
當時雖然事前有做足準備功夫，出發前兩個星期還參加了一場比賽，純屬寓賽於操的性質，竟做出快時間（對我而言）；但是去到比賽當日，秋天的蘇格蘭罕有地有接近20度高溫，加上前一晚下了場雨，天然路的賽道，遍地泥濘，而且我帶錯跑鞋，結果跑到未到一半路程，已感舉步維艱，最終也能完成全程，時間就較預期中慢。
每位參賽者，只要跑畢全程，皆獲得用舊橡木桶製成的獎牌，與及一些屬於該區的威士忌酒辦，記得當日比賽後，回到下榻的Highlander Inn小休一會，晚上落地庫的酒吧再飲過！ 有了上次的經驗，剛過去的The Dramathon 2019，再接再勵10公里，路線不變，數百位來自世界各地的參賽者，照舊由Aberlour出發，沿著River Spey旁邊的小路，經過Craigellachie，走進像森林一樣，舉頭望到的是樹葉，陽光在微弱的罅隙照射進來，好像沒有盡頭的泥路；今次賽前疏於操練，狀態沒有上次的好，但寒冷的天氣幫了我一把，特別地穿上應付天然路的跑鞋，完賽時間竟然還快過上一次。
灑著雨粉趟在Glenfiddich酒廠的草地上，喝著其12 yo的威士忌，也許是我這次比賽的一大獎勵；訂不到附近的住宿，即日來回Inverness，計劃找間當地餐廳吃一頓海鮮，然而，我死性不改，先在Black Isle Bar吃芝士喝啤酒，再到附近一間威士忌酒吧飲兩杯，成為了比賽後的晚餐，但真的只是飲兩杯而已，第二天大清早，便要乘坐飛機南下倫敦。
我當時給自己一個期許：下次再來比賽，要增程跑半馬拉松了，可惜人算不如天算，武漢肺炎爆發，執筆之時，歐洲正在慢慢鬆綁，逐漸解封，足球比賽重開，但要閉門作賽；十月的The Dramathon，能否如期舉行，仍是未知之數。蘇格蘭，是我喜愛的地方，喜歡它們的羊肉、海鮮，當然不少得威士忌，正所謂船到橋頭自然直，復原之路或會漫長，但堅信總會好起來。
兩年後，Speyside再見。
