This evening I went to the 8th Royton Trail Race in Tandle Hill Country Park. Sponsored by Up and Running Manchester, where I work the odd shift on Saturdays. I had initially thought I'd not be able to make it as it looked very difficult to get to on public transport. Luckily, Martin and Steve, managers at Up and Running were both racing and Martin had space in the car. Cinderella, therefore, went to the ball!
On arrival, I could tell it was a well established and popular event; there were an awful lot of club shirts... Certainly no easy winnings for me tonight, especially not as I needed to keep some in the tank for the second Todmorden 5k tomorrow and of course my 'A' race of the week; the We Love MCR 10k on Sunday! We were incredibly lucky with the weather and it was a glorious evening. Exactly the sort of night you want to be out in the rolling English hills, which is just as well really as there were certainly a good few of those on what is described as an 'undulating multi-terrain' trail. This may sound strange to some but though I did enjoy the course very much, there was a little too much down hill for my liking. I never enjoy running down a steep incline; I always feel a step to close to going bum-over-noggin and find it difficult to control what my legs are doing. I think I'm getting better but on a rough trail path as well, there were a few hairy moments where if I had wanted to stop, I'm not sure I could have! I don't know if it was just me but there seemed to be an awful lot more down than up on this course... maybe I should have run it backwards! |
Still, 5.5 (approximate) miles of sunny countryside was exactly what I needed to blow away the academic cobwebs and get ready for the summer break! Though I found I had to watch the path ahead of me a lot more carefully than I would on the road and so couldn't absorb quite as much of the surroundings visually as I might have liked, I did still enjoy some stunning views. It was also my first race proudly sporting the Salford Harriers shirt and it was useful to be able to spot a couple more of my club mates who I had not yet met. In fact, early conversation on Twitter suggests two of the guys came first and second! My favourite thing about the race I think was just how much more support I got from wearing the club kit; so many people recognised it and I was cheered on with shouts of 'come on Salford!' all along the way which was a real boost. One chap even called out 'You shouldn't be racing, you had a track session last night!'; I'm not sure if I was personally recognised or that was an assumption based on a knowledge of the club but I'd like to think my response of 'I know! and I'm racing tomorrow!' mentally broke at least a couple of people struggling near by! I doubt it did really, but it certainly made me run stronger for a bit, it's funny what a lift a bit of supporter interaction can give you. About a mile from the end I had another nice surprise when I ran past Simon, a member of Royton Road Runners who I first met at the Southport Sandgrounder. We have now bumped into each other at various running related events and it was good to catch up after the race. |
The results don't appear to be online yet as I write this so I'm not sure what my 'official' time was but I'll find out no doubt, soon enough! According to Mr Garmin I completed in 39.47. I'm not sure if that bodes well for Sunday or not; t's a shorter course by 0.7 of a mile but certainly slower than the road with a lot more hill work. We shall just have to wait and see!
Thursday Morning Update! | The results are now out and I was pleased to discover that as well as confirming first and second places to Salford Harriers courtesy of Ian McBride and Joe Bailey, I was 4th Lady (in 62nd place overall). In an official time of 39:43, it looks like it took me about 4 seconds to remember to stop the watch! Congrats to a Royton Road Running Jen Hanson, who brought third place home 22 seconds ahead of me, and of course to the first and second ladies Kirsty White and Rachel Chatwin. |
Unfortunately, this means that I am again left wondering what could have been if I had pushed harder, but I must remind myself that the A race of the week is on Sunday when I hope to achieve my first sub 40 10k. Eek! Fortunately, It does mean I have at least circumnavigated the theoretical question posed to my mangers on the journey in; 'what would happen if a member of Up and Running staff won an Up and Running sponsored prize!?' Well, I wasn't given an answer but then I don't think we realised how close we might come to finding out! Of course Steve; 15th in 35:33 and Martin; 25th in 36:37 (A PB for that course) also did well and much faster than me but then I do have a gender advantage in coming closer to prizes in a smaller field of competitors! Well, I am still buzzing from a great run last night and now looking forward to the second in the Todmorden 5k series! I'd like to say I won't be racing it but I don't think anyone would believe me if I did and I'm starting to disbelieve even myself when I make such assertions. The game plan however, will simply be what it always is; settle in, see how I feel and then just enjoy the ride!