I spent so many childhood summers in Nesebar with my parents that, for years, I did not feel much need to go back. Lately, I have started to miss it. I hoped this race might bring me a little closer to those memories.
The route disappointed me. There was a lot of construction, and after roughly the first five kilometres I saw much less of the sea than I had hoped. It did not feel very connected to the part of Nesebar I remembered. I would not choose that course again.
But I am glad I ran it. My cousin was there too and finished in about one hour and fifty-three minutes. It was lovely to see him do well. I reached the finish in 2:12:23, tired but steady after 21.4 kilometres.
It was only my second run of that distance. I still prefer trails: the changing ground keeps me present in a way the steady rhythm of a road race does not.
So this entry has a little disappointment in it, and some good memories as well. Running with my cousin mattered. Coming back to a place tied to so many summers with my family mattered too, even if the race itself was not the reunion I had imagined.