So, despite my slightly disappointing race performance (see race reports for detailed account) the trip as a whole, and being part of the Great Britain team, was a fantastic experience.

The team comprised four ladies (Ellie Greenwood, Karen Rushton, Jo Zakrzewski and me) and four men (Grant Jeans, Martin Matthews, Allen Smalls and Craig Stewart).  We also had a team physio (Brian Cole) and three team managers (Adrian Stott, Walter Hill and Anne Wilson).   We all travelled to the Netherlands from various places - Scotland, Birmingham and London - so we didn't all meet up as a complete team until we had arrived at our accommodation.  I'd met Jo, Ellie and Karen before, and Walter and Anne from the team management, but didn't know any of the others.  I flew from Birmingham along with Martin, Anne and Norman Wilson.  My coach, Les, also flew with us but then went his own separate way as he collected a hire car to get to his hotel in another town near Winschoten.  I fully expected never to see him again, knowing his sense of direction and the fact he had to negotiate unfamiliar motorways out of Amsterdam!!  I was pleasantly surprised later that evening, however, when I had a text to say he'd arrived!  The rest of us, meanwhile, waited by the train ticket office at Amsterdam airport to meet up with those who had flown from Scotland.  There was a bit of a palaver with the train tickets - UKA had emailed our tickets to us the previous evening, but several of us, not thinking we would have travel info. at such short notice, didn't have access to our email or a printer!  The team managers had to pay for our tickets to be printed at the ticket office.

We made our way to platform 3 and boarded the first leg of our train journey up to the north of the Netherlands.  The journey involved two changes and luckily all the trains were on time!  When we eventually arrived in Winschoten we were met by someone from the race organising committee who took us in a minibus to our accommodation, which was actually about 20km from Winschoten!  The accommodation was like a sort of holiday camp, with individual bungalows - Ellie, Jo, Karen and I were sharing one, the 4 lads another, and the team management a third one.  All the international athletes, from the 34 countries represented, were accommodated here in the 'athletes village'.  Although the bungalows were self-catering, with a small kitchen, all our meals were provided for us.  We all ate together in a big hall, and it was great to mingle with athletes from the other countries - and meet up with one or two who I'd met earlier in the year at Comrades.  We had great fun scrutinising the other teams' kit to see which we liked best, but in the end decided that, actually, our own GB kit was definitely the smartest, and some countries were just awful!  The food was good - nothing spectacular but plenty of pasta, rice, fresh fruit etc. - just what we needed for pre-race carbo loading.

We'd arrived in the Netherlands on the Thursday evening before the race on the Saturday.  Friday was surprisingly busy - I often find that the day before a big race I'm sitting around waiting for the time to pass, but this time we seemed to have plenty to fill the day.  I went for a very easy half-hour jog with Jo, then saw the team physio, Brian, for a loosen up before the race.  I always find that my back gets very tight after travelling and he managed to get a few very loud clunks and clicks out of it!  Then it was time to sort out our drinks bottles and make up our drinks for the race.  I'd done a lot of my labels beforehand, and had also made big silver stars for my bottles so I could identify them in the race (something I've always done for all my marathons), and this seemed to earn me the reputation of being the organised person amongst the team!  I have to say, though, it was much easier when I only had 8 drinks bottles to prepare, rather than the 19 I need for a 100K race!!  It felt like we were on Blue Peter, with plastic bottles, sticky labels, selotape, marker pens, sports drink and gels strewn all over the room!

Lunch wasn't scheduled until 3pm (so I was snacking all day), and after lunch we had a team briefing.  All the international athletes then boarded coaches for the 30 minute journey into Winschoten for the opening ceremony.  We all gathered in the town centre and stood by our national flags.  After a few (but thankfully not too many) speeches, and some dancing by some Dutch children, each country was introduced in turn and we processed through the town with our flags.  It was a great experience and made the whole event seem more special. 

After the flag parade we were bused back to the athletes village for a late dinner (8.30pm).  If I have any criticism of the organisation it was the irregular meal times on the day before the race.  It always frustrates me that in the final couple of days before a big race we are expected to spend hours travelling, eat whatever food is provided for us, at whatever time it is provided, sleep in unfamiliar beds - and then be expected to perform well!  After our late dinner we then still had to sort our kit out for the next day!  Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night.

So, race day at last.  I'd set my alarm for 6.30am and went for breakfast on my own as I like to eat 3 hours before a race.  As usual I'd taken my own breakfast cereal with me.  At 8.30am we all boarded the buses to take us to the race.

As I've already mentioned, a detailed account of the race can be found in my race reports.

At the end of the race Les was there at the finish line.  The first thing I said to him was "I'm never running a 100K again!"  He handed me a blanket and I slumped in a chair, where I stayed for what seemed like ages!!  Eventually I managed to stand up, and made my way to the sports hall where I met up with one or two of the other Brits, and again slumped in a chair.  I had to force myself to drink my recovery drink as by this time I was sick of sports drinks!  Eventually I summoned up the energy to go and have a shower, and then started to feel a bit better.  Back in the sports hall we congregated as a team, along with people's parents, partners, friends etc. who had come to support.  We were unaware that there was a pasta meal at one of the nearby restaurants for the elite athletes (a slip-up by the team management I feel), so instead out team managers went out and bought a few pizzas which we shared between us - not the ideal post-race recovery meal I have to say!  Eventually the other teams made their way back into the sports hall to await the presentation ceremony.  After a considerable time, with the room getting hotter and hotter, the presentations eventually began.  I have to say, it was done extremely well, with flags of the medallists projected onto a screen behind the podium and 'raised' as the winner's national anthem was played.  This really added to the sense of occasion and reinforced the fact that this was a World Championship.  After the individual medals  (where we all cheered very loudly for Jo as she received her two silver medals for the World and European Championships) it was time for us to collect our European team silver medals.  It was a fantastic moment to watch the union flag raised (just a shame it was the Russian national anthem playing and not God Save the Queen!).  Then it was time for the World Masters medals.  These were given out in the usual 5 year age groups, for men and women, with the winner's national anthem played each time!  As you can imagine, it did go on for rather a long time, and it didn't help the post-race muscle soreness to have to keep standing up for each anthem!! 

Eventually the ceremony came to a conclusion and we all boarded the buses back to the athletes village amid a spectacular thunderstorm, with lightening flashes that lit the sky for miles.  Arriving back in our bungalow at around 1.00am we festooned the lounge area with our wet, sweaty kit (mmmm, nice) and had a brief chat about the race to unwind before falling into our beds.  That night I didn't sleep much, reflecting on the race, and trying to position my feet so that the duvet didn't hurt my sore toes too much!!