Result 17/88 14m57s
The second race within a week were I can run to the start line in under 10 minutes. I had been up until about 3am following a small house party and changing nappies in the night on our small wee baby. So getting up for 10am on new year's day was quite a challenge. I made to the the pub for just before 11am and chilled out with my sister and a fellow Team Derby Runner member. Then to my surprise my friend, from way back, walked in with safety pins, registration sheets, and a suspicious looking bag.
I joined the back of the queue for registration and registered all three of us before sticking the self adhesive race numbers to our chests. my sticker fell off almost instantly so I used a couple of safety pins to keep it secure. We sat around and chatted and kept warm in the pub as the rain and wind rolled in finally around 11:40 we were invited to muster outside and the master of ceremonies unveiled a rather splendid looking shotgun from the suspicious bag.
As we jostled on the start line the countdown started as the shotgun was aimed high into the air cocked and on '1' an almighty bang as the shotgun was fired. This had the effect of stunning most people rather than motivating them to run. It was pretty tight as we left the pub car park and on to the uphill bridleway, but with a bit of fancy footwork and off piste diversions I managed to get through the thicker clumps of runners and settle into a hard half km of uphill trail running. As the mud and stone gave way to tarmac the road got steeper but i knew it was a short race so no need to save any energy and pushed on until the course flattened out. The problem with the top of the hill was that it was incredibly exposed. The wind was driving the rain horizontally right into my face, and was brutally painful on my forehead and face.
It was a welcome relief when the route took us back off road and slightly more sheltered. The fields where incredibly slippery but the downhill gradient was great fun. I slowed down when running towards a pack of horses. one of the horses was on a path set to cut me off but when it stopped its hoofs started to slip in the mud, as I waited to see what the horse would do next 2 guys over took me. I pushed on and ignored the potential head to head with Mr Ed and managed to re take one of the guys, but couldn't quite catch the other dude. The final stretch done some narrow slippery steps was pretty dicey but great fun. finishing with a hand on the pub door was a great touch and huge thanks to all involved in this awesome short run all in aid of charity.
http://hollybushinnmakeney.co.uk/
