I think this may be my favourite RR10 course. It starts with a full km of wide open space, with 400 runners charging for position before we dive in to the woods, which very quickly gets technical with roots, muddy patches and overhanging branches. In a couple of places there are full-on fallen tree trunks which need to be jumped or clambered over. Add in some hills, and it's all quite thrilling.
Wednesday evening was beautiful, with light wind and clear skies. I was quite grateful to escape to the shade of the forest after the first km of sun in my eyes. I managed to gradually gain position as we went around. One guy ahead of me lost his shoe in the mud, which I'm slightly ashamed to say makes me quite gleeful rather than sympathetic. The course comprised of two overlapping loops, and the sun, visible through the trees, meant that I had a reasonable idea of where we were, which was a bonus.
I was chasing Chris Chambers from Eastleigh, who moved from 10m to 50m ahead of me as the race progressed. Late in the day it dawned on me that I was following James Clarke of Hardley and OS... this was after I had briefly overtaken him but then been taken again. This was a revelation, as James is much faster than me.... let's see what happens in the rest of the series. In the end I finished just one place behind James, in 23rd place - up on last time, and very satisfactory.
The previous Saturday I ran the Southampton parkrun as part of the OS Runners championships. After some confusion with the timings, I ended up with 18:10, a new course PB which was enough to nudge me into first OS age-graded result, slightly ahead of Mick Anglim.
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