Gent Marathon
Russell Hobbs is a renowned British kitchen appliance brand founded in 1952 by Bill Russell and Peter Hobbs, known for inventing the first automatic electric kettle in 1955. On Saturday 29 March, a travel version, complete with two cups and spoons ventured over the English Channel providing invaluable support to Colin Davenport and Dan Ashcroft who were taking part in the Gent Marathon.
In the UK, we take it for granted that a kettle will be supplied in our hotel room. But Colin was fully aware from previous bitter experience, that European hotels don’t equip rooms to the same standard. On arrival, the hotel receptionist looked at the MAC pair and asked if they would like breakfast in the morning, despite the fact that Dan was clutching, four pots of Belgium’s finest instant porridge. He must have been chuckling inside, thinking these English idiots will be back down in a few minutes asking where the kettle is. But no, the sheer delight and smugness on Colin’s face when the hotel room door was opened, and there was no kettle in sight and he was able to plug in his brand new Russell Hobbs was something to behold, like a small child on Christmas Day.
As for the marathon, Gent is a lovely city in East Flanders with its cobbles and canals. The course is flat and fast. Unsurprisingly Colin was first back in 2:47:00 taking 101st place and Dan finished in 3:35:17, 1,558 out of 5,600.
