RR10, 2015 - Marwell

The course at Marwell had changed since my last outing in 2013.  It was now a single lap, but quite a complicated one.  I spent a while studying the map and, following my experiences at Manor Farm a fortnight ago, I did a recce of the final hill before the start.

Despite this, I was feeling poorly prepared for the race.  Mrs S and I had enjoyed a very pleasant pub lunch a few hours earlier, and I had to rouse myself from the sofa in a Wimbledon-soaked lethargy to leave the house at six-thirty.

Off we went, and I made a real effort not to get caught up in the initial charge.  After a couple of minutes we were out of the wide open Campari and into narrow woodland tracks, full of tricksy tree roots.  For a while it was a job to overtake, but I bided my time as patiently as I could.... and as a result I had a very happy time in the second half overtaking lots of people, and I had a good sense of how much of the race lay ahead.

You put your left leg in...

I finished in 23rd place, equal with my Wilverley finish - very satisfactory.  And I'd got my appetite back.