Day 288 – EU – France [Cambrai to Valenciennes]

17/01/21

33km

  From Cambrai (France) to Valenciennes (France)

Europe

Running in slushy snow amongst white powder covered fields, a short and tranquil day on the road

Today was my last run in France as I will cross into Belgium tomorrow. I started out a bit later than usual as I was afraid to run in the snow in darkness. But it turned out ok. Sunday morning traffic was very light and there was a cycling path available for the first 9km out of Cambrai. The remainder of the run was on small deserted country roads.

The snow on the ground was all slushy and it was unpleasant at first to run in it as my shoes got very wet very quickly. As I started running on country roads it was more pleasant. The countryside was beautiful, all covered in snow. I noticed a lot of wind turbines in the area. It must be a very windy region and I am lucky it was very mild and pleasant weather today.

As I approached Valenciennes, I realised I had no food reserves and needed to make it to a supermarket. Not easy on a Sunday. I ended up sprinting over 3 kilometers. My “sprints” are only about 5:30 per kilometer, but with the stroller to push it is quite an effort! I made it just on time to the last supermarket open today. This afternoon for once, I stayed indoors resting and did not get to see much of Valenciennes, unfortunately…

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: