A 3rd attempt at this race (previously '07 & '11) and things not looking good from the off, having looked behind at the first bend to see no one behind me.
A bit of effort up the first field to the kissing gate and I'd gained 4 followers. Thereafter some jostling for positions on the flatter sections so that by the time we'd reached the quarries at the far end of the course I was down to just 2.
There they remained until the finish. Disappointed with this as I don't appear to be doing much better on the shorter races as well as the longs. Not quite my slowest time yet, but nearly. My gut feeling tonight is that I 'ran' more of the hilly sections, so the stamina's there just not the speed.
A reduced turn out tonight (a good 30-40 short compared with '07 & '11). Not sure of the reason, as the weather was OK and no other local races clashed.
On my walk back to the car I got to have a good natter with 2 other runners who'd done Howtown on Saturday. Transpires that one of the faster lads managed to miss the 3rd CP as well as the 2nd and his name still appeared in the results. Now that is taking the Micky!
Both of these runners are on the FRA committee and have helped draw up the new guidelines for race safety. Loved the route, but they weren't desperately impressed with the way things were handled. Methinks we haven't heard the last of this yet. Watch this space.
TF
No comments:
Post a Comment