What a fantastic race , a great challenge with it's rolling
hills,stiles,steep slopes in the woods and lumpy farmyards. A narrow
start along a footpath was a blessing in disguise,avoiding a too fast
start and conserving energy for the tricky hills and final killer
hill
at the end. Quite a few folk fell , I saw a couple of runners fall
over the dry tricky course and one lady in front of me did the most
amazing fall recovery ! the ground was heavily rutted and needed much
concentration. Brilliant stuff!!
I was a little worried at first by the stringy elites and veterans
but the field was well strung out with no obvious gaps in abilities.
The smaller the race the more chance of being outclassed I feel ,
though if I'm honest I can start further back knowing I'll never get
a
very fast course time as he leaders are elites!! I managed 49:39 ,
which given the stiles to climb and the hills I'm very pleased with.
Great marshalling , great bag (trainer bag) as momento . Plenty of
water - plus free Red Bull which was good. This is a superb
challenging race and I'll be hoping that next year word will have got
round and it'll have "Race Full" on it well before the start. It used
to be a 10 mile race but organisaional difficulties and marshalling
problems have promtpted a change to this route and 10K.
A big thank you then to Halesowen Athletics club - I'll be back next
year !!