There were a few familiar faces around, both from Romsey and OS. It was a calm, cool day and dry underfoot. Off we went, on forest paths through a mixture of heath and woodland. I found myself working a good consistent pace and felt strong. It was a stonker of a race! The landscape was fabulous, the marshalling was excellent and everything felt good. Into the last km and I was catching on the guy in front, and I found myself wishing that the course would go on a bit further so that I could take him, but I was very happy to stagger over the line in 1:06:13, four minutes quicker than my estimate. Here are the GPS stats.
This was everything that I hope for in a race:
- Organised by a local club - no silly commercial glitz, and modest entry fees
- Great countryside with rolling hills, and entirely off-road
- Friendly, capable volunteers in charge
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| The open flat start... |
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| ...and the chase to the finish |
This was up there with one of the happiest and most satisfying races that I've ever done. Great job Totton!
