It was all Arthur’s fault. In the Spring of 2021, COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed a little to allow some limited human contact. Arthur then created what has since become the iconic Chemin de Fer run of CACE. As an outdoor event, it was an ideal solution to give people the chance to meet up safely after months of winter lockdown. The 11km race, now held every year, is a staple of the CACE race calendar.
The committee was glued to the forecast in the days leading up to the run and to be honest, things did not look good. Possible stormy weather was due in the Brussels region at 3pm, precisely the time the run was due to start. Thankfully though, on the day, the storm stayed away. There were a few drops of rain and some worrying clouds but then the sun came out and the afternoon was lovely, though very warm.
The club President, always an imposing figure, suddenly looked very tall indeed. But it was only that he had stood up on one of the benches to give the pre-race talk. “Be careful of the cars on the little road”, “turn around at the outdoor gym”, “Take some water at half-way”, “Turn around again at the Villo station”. Niall thanked everyone for supporting the run and welcomed in particular new members, the visitors from Ireland and the Sportivamente gang. The CACE flag was hung from a tree and fluttered proudly in a light breeze. Magnus called everyone to the start and with a 3, 2, 1 the 2025 race had begun!
The runners haired across the little pedestrian bridge over Avenue de Tervuren. Many admitted afterwards to making that great running mistake – starting off too fast.
At halfway, Matthew was in the lead, followed closely by the English missile, Sam Whittaker. Angelo, who is training for an upcoming Ironman, was in third place. Florían, Gianpietro, Bjorn and Miguel were all running well as were Michael, Jean-Luc, Jesper, Marie, Panagiotis and Angelo (the other one).
But the sweltering conditions were beginning to have an impact. Faces were looking quite strained. Some runners decided to abandon. These were the intelligent ones. The rest, clearly affected by the heat, continued on.
Bert and Matthew’s young son did trojan work handing out water and shouting encouragement. At times, Bert’s enthusiasm got the better of him and instead of handing out the cups of water, he began to throw them over the runners. In the relentless June heat, no-one complained.
The bells of Rouge Cloitre rang out over the vast Foret de Soignes as the runners approached the little hill on the way to Auderghem. Claire, the leading lady, was running very smoothly indeed. Recently, she came in as the first lady and fifth overall in the 107km Legend Ardennes Trail, a stunning achievement. A young man stood on the side with a proud look on his face. ‘Allez Maman’ cheered Fabian.
Ana, who is also training for an upcoming Ironman, was moving well too. Charlotte was flying. Last month she completed the famous Madeira Island Ultra-Trail. That’s 86km of high elevation! She was quite unfazed by the little Auderghem hill.
Róisín proclaimed dramatically before the start that she would finish last. Few were fooled by this however. Many remember the amazing time she did in the Lisbon marathon a few years ago. And the little Auderghem hills are nothing to the hills of Donegal!
On they ran beneath a canopy of green
Along the sun-speckled pathway
Where long ago the trains had been
Nobody intended to collapse
Though many wondered if the finish was around the next bend perhaps?
This is all a bit of a struggle
I have hamstring trouble
Somebody please give me a beer
Get me out of here
No way I’m doing this again
next year.
Finally the finish line was in sight and Matthew Jones, who only recently joined the club, took everyone by surprise by claiming the 2025 Chemin de Fer men’s title, in an amazing time of 42.32. Sam was close behind (43.05). Angelo came in third. Claire took the ladies title (46.40) and was 6th overall. Ana was 2nd (47.57). Stepanka took a superb 3rd place. They were all presented with great prizes of bottles of Baileys and Godiva and Neuhaus chocolates and organic salmon.
The Sportivamente crew did themselves proud. Olivier, though an enthusiastic member of CACE, wore the Sportivamente top ‘to make things interesting’. Agata just missed out on a podium place to the mercurial Stepanka. Nicholas ran strongly on the back of a very fine performance in the recent 20km of Bruxelles. Salvatore was in 11th place and came away with a very tasty spot prize. Indeed Sportivamente took 2 out of the 3 spot prizes. Jiri came 5th overall, just behind Enrique (45.26). Anyone who finishes just behind Enrique must be an exceptional runner indeed. The two clubs face off once again on Saturday 13 September in Bois de la Cambre for the Sportivamente 10km.
Eventually most runners crossed the finish line. However, there was still no sign of the big Pole, Clare (the other one) or Paddy. As the shadows began to lengthen there was a distinct air of concern in the camp. Had one or all three succumbed to the summer heat? Suddenly Clare appeared on the horizon and there was a big sigh of relief. This soon turned to disappointment however when she came closer. It wasn’t Clare after all, just another runner wearing the same pink top and with similar sandy hair. Maaria very kindly offered to go in search of the missing runners and jumped up on her bike. Just at that moment, in the distance, out of the evening haze, three figures came into view. Jakub, Paddy and Clare crossed the finish line, exhausted but happy. ‘Bet you thought we wouldn’t make it!’ declared Paddy triumphantly. It was only afterwards that I noticed the words on his running top:
“You see the impossible,
I just saw the finish line.”
And so, the CACE Chemin de Fer race of 2025 was over. It was time to open a few beers and head into the park to relax. Under the shade of the great Woluwe trees, there was much discussion and banter and many stories were told. Many thanks to everyone for the lovely food. Edina’s almond cakes were very tasty and though she herself didn’t run, she covered more ground than anyone else on the day chasing after her two little ones in the vast expanse of the Park. Bert’s rice pudding has now become a staple of the CACE picnic and it disappeared rapidly. Maaria’s salmon pastries were exceptional. I don’t know who made the little sausages rolls but they were delicious. Monica turned up to say hello and to see how we were getting on. A word of thanks to Niall too who gave the Irish (and Enrique) a lift home (though I had to go in the boot).
And the good news is, we get to do it all again next year! Like I said, it’s all Arthur’s fault.
Enda
Thanks to Charlotte for the great pics and also to Magnus for diligently taking all the names and race times on the day.