Over the past few days I have had the privilege to visit an amazing country. It took a little while to get over the border from Poland,(I don’t think they wanted to let us go) But it has been worth it. Our first night in Belarus was spent in Brest, didn’t see much of it as we were quite late arriving but what was obvious was how clean every thing is. We met our new guide for our stay in Belarus her name is Valentina, a very lovely girl, long blond hair with a lovely Russian/English accent Is this part of the test also, putting gorgeous girls with us as we travel around the world, now on the road for over twenty days, men have needs. Only joking Jo. Our first run here was between Brest and Minsk. The yellow team covered its usual 40 mile between us, and the most amazing thing was that there was only one bend the whole way. Another shift over and a three hour drive to Minsk, the country side around here is very flat with storks strutting around the freshly cut grass, (Do people eat them, I wonder if they taste of chicken) was one of the many conversations on the long journey. If any one knows the answer to this drop us a line, some one might like to phone Wogan on his breakfast show I’m sure he’ll have had a few.

We arrived at our hotel in the middle of the city some time in the early evening, a lovely hotel; it might be our last for a while as we travel further east. Why is it the posher the hotel the less food they feed you? After missing out on seeing the sights of Brest, Heiko and me were determined not to miss out on Minsk. So with our lovely guide for the evening, Valantina, we headed out for a tour with me wearing the kilt, the first time it has seen the light since we left. Well this was very entertaining; we spent a lot of the time people watching when they suddenly noticed some bloke walking down the street wearing a skirt. Seemed to go down well with the local women. This is Valantina’s home town, so she was eager to show us as much as possible of this amazing city.

This has to be one of the best places we have visited so far, the monuments and architecture are just incredible, lit up through the darkness. Most of this city was demolished during the Second World War, but you would never know that now, the whole place is stunning. The atmosphere is also great with hundreds of people out along the river drinking and dancing, it had a feel of Paris.

Next morning, the yellow team is going to run into Minsk city center, we were all so excited. After a few mishaps with vehicles we eventually started the run around fifteen minutes late, this was soon gained with great runs from Laurel, Heiko and Ruddy, with Heiko running down the wrong road for nearly four mile before being turned around to run back. Not a happy bunny!!! What is really nice about running here is the fact that you get a police escort the whole time you are running, making sure the road is clear of traffic at all times. It was decided that I would run the final leg into the city, but at one mile to go all four of us would get together and run in together with me wearing my kilt. During this last leg the police had provided two cars one in front and one behind closing off one of the lanes on the three lane road, making sure I never had to stop for anything. Then a film crew drove along side for a few miles, it was amazing. The reception we got at the exchange was also incredible with a few surprised faces when the four of us ran in with me wearing a kilt.

No rest though it was straight into the van for a drive to the next hotel, not so nice this time but ok. The four of us ventured out into the town for the evening, this was also very entertaining, with us in our uniforms, we stood out a mile amongst the locals. We were entertained by some kind of school dance program being held in the center of town, eighties fashion seems to be the in thing amongst the local youths, very colorful. We had to say good bye to our new honorary member of the yellow team, Valentina, her pretty face and great sense of humor will definitely be missed.