It was priced at £12 for club members so I grasped the nettle and registered, only to find that there was a processing fee that pushed it up to £14 - naughty! At that price it worked out at £2.25 per mile. I used to draw the line at £1 a mile, but on consideration, mild was 1/8d a pint when I started drinking; price rises over the years have not quenched my thirst - so, hey ho, on with the race.
The start was from Smithills School and the climb up Smithills Dean road combined with the cold air soon had me gasping for breath and walking. We carried straight on across Walker Fold road and encountered a significant amount of ice as we headed for (yes!) the Trespass Stone. I reached this in just under 32 minutes, but by then was already being baulked by descending runners. The baulking got worse on the narrow path after the sleeper bridge until the turning point about 400 yards short of the mast - it was a measured 10k course. From the Trespass Stone to this point took a further 19 minutes.
The return was much less problematic, with many fewer runners to encounter (14 minutes to the Trespass Stone) and a further 19 minutes down the tarmac, with the ice now all melted.
Total time 84 minutes - 51 up and 33 down. The race was won by Chris Farrell of Horwich in a time of 36:17 and Horwich took the team prize with 1st, 2nd and 6th. First lady was Paula Pilling V40 of Burnden in a time of 47:55. The race was particularly well supported by Burnden and it was in fact the first Burnden runner home who pointed out to me, later in the day in the Adlington Bay Horse that the medal actually portrayed (yes, you've got it again) the Trespass Stone! See below:-
It's the elongated black bit immediately below the mast - I can just about make out the inscription on the medal itself with a magnifying glass.
Not a brilliant run on my part, but an enjoyable one, if a tad pricey.
1 comment:
Haha - nice medal :)
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