Yes, that is D in the blue running gear, runner # 4435 in Lyon’s first ever l’Equipe 10km race.

He had not planned on this, but when we were strolling around yesterday, I noticed several tents being erected in the Place Bellecour, a large square near our hotel. It looked suspiciously like a tent city for some kind of athletic event, so we took a closer look and discovered that there was a 10km race scheduled for today. There was no way that D was going to pass up the chance to participate.

For those of you who do not know this about D, he is an accomplished runner, having so far completed several half-marathons (21 km) and about 13 marathons (42 km), 2 of which were the legendary Boston Marathon. He has completed countless 10km races, many of them in support of various charities.

If you are wondering how it happened that he had proper running gear and shoes with him for the race, it’s because he never stops running, even when he’s on vacation. I’d like to call this ‘neurotic’, but it’s probably more accurate (and less evil of me) to call it ‘highly disciplined’.

This particular course took the 1 500 participants along the banks of both the Saône and Rhône rivers. D told me afterwards that the course was mostly flat, to his relief.

He completed his race in 41 minutes and a few seconds. An excellent time, especially since he had not done any serious preparation beforehand, as is his usual custom before any race or marathon.

Félicitations, mon gars!