A special family weekend in Normandy

This past weekend my sister, BIL, two nephews and step - mum came to vist us here at the Presbytere, it was the first time we had been together in twelve months, and so we had a lot to catch up on.
The weather was awful! Their ferry on Friday afternoon was delayed because of it and the crossing itself was quite an adventure, luckily no one was seasick although many other passengers around them were unwell.
Saturday it poured with rain but we entertained ourselves playing golf with Tiger Woods on the Wii, Nicholas (aged 10) scored a hole in one! Not bad for a beginner.
When the rain eased off the boys and their Dad went with Uncle Roger & the dogs for a long walk whilst my sister, step mom and I chatted by the fire.
Yes, that's right, a log fire in June, incroyable!
Sunday dawned bright and clear which was a relief as the main reason for the family visit was so that BIL, Andrew, could take part in the 24th Marathon de la Liberté.
From the official website:
"Rooted in the French Top 10 marathons since its inception in 1988, the Marathon de la Liberté, sometimes called Marathon D-Day beaches, often chosen as the Marathon of Caen, has one of the most beautiful courses in France.
Coasting on the mythical places 42.195 km Landing (D Day Beaches, Casino de Ouistreham, Pegasus Bridge ...), the maritime and rural means something different and makes the marathon more than usual, full of symbols and emotions. "

Some facts and figures..........................
3000 runners began the marathon at 9.00 am from the port at Courselles sur Mer -  only 842 crossed the finishing line.

The first person across the line, Desta Morkana from Ethiopia, ran the race in 2 hours 15 minutes and 54 seconds.
There were 21 U.K. runners taking part.
Andrew's time of 4 hours 19 minutes and 49 seconds made him the 14th Brit to finish!
This was his first marathon and we are all very proud of his acheivement.
Whilst we were standing at the finish line we noticed that children were running up the road, towards the marathon runners.
We soon realised that the race organisers were allowing them to run and meet their mother or father as they came in, so that's what our boys Alex & Nicholas did too.

It came as a surprise to Andrew when they finished the race together but he was pleased to have them with him as he cooled down.
All to soon it was Monday morning and time for them to head back to the U.K. but not before I took one last shot of our Marathon Man and his medal!