RR10 2016 - Hursley

The 2016 Rr10 season is now finished.  I ran the final race at Hursley on 17 August.  It's a different kind of course from most of the series, being 3 laps of the IBM grounds... a bit less wild, but an interesting and varied course nonetheless.

It was a hot, humid evening.  We had a longish wait at the start to get going, with a large field of runners.  Southampton AC were out in force in the front of the pack.  The relatively simple terrain made for a fast race and I pushed hard, hoping to beat my season's worst position of 30th... but I arrived in a sweaty heap at the finish, in a not-quite-good-enough 31st position.  Never mind... the lovely Mrs S was cheering me on, and we stopped on the way home for some fish and chips.

Waiting for the start

Final stats for the 2016 season:
Overall position 19th (2015: 24th)
M40 position 5th (2915: 3rd)
Overall ranking 90.70% (2015: 88.23%)

All good fun.  Roll on next year!

Autumn in the air

Lammas tide falls at the beginning of August.  Around 40 days after the summer solstice, it's the warmest time of the year; in that sense the very zenith of summer.  It's a time of quiet at work and congestion on the main roads.  It's when I groan about sodding football stories getting time on television (August? Really?) and when, in fine weather, the landscape feels at ease with itself; no longer vigorous with growth, but earthy, mellow and mature.  The year is also just about to tip into the first signs of Autumn as the nights start to get a little longer and cooler.  And thus begins marathon season.

I've got two substantial Autumn adventures this year; the perennial favourite the Clarendon marathon on 2 October and then something completely different - the Skibbereen Charity Adventure Race on 16 October.  I've just started long-distance training with a gentle run-commute.  It's as much a mental as physical step up; a conscious, deliberate feeling of 'right, now I've started'.

Off we go!

RR10 2026: Itchen Valley

It was a sparklingly sunny evening aftter da grey ere ay.  Thwas a big turnout at Itchen Valley Country Park and I was keen to clock a good position on my last RR10 of the season.

An assorted OS bunch at the start

We set off on the wide open grassland and I got off at a good pace.  After the first tight turn I slipped on the edge of a rabbit hole and just managed to avoid twisting my ankle.  A fast downhill run into the sun and then into the sepulchral darkness of the woods, all full of twisty turns.  I love the varied technical nature of the course here - it's got a bit of everything.  I was watching Chris Chhambers from Eastleigh - we've been quite evenly matched this year, but I struggled to keep close to him this evening.

I worked hard and felt I was doing OK.  I blasted up to the finish, lay fish-like on the ground and opened the sweaty ticket in my hand... 30?  I was bemused.  I really couldn't tell how my run hasd differed from the earlier ones when I clocked up 13 and 14.  Still, it had been great fun.

I won't be able to make the last race at Hursley, so this is the season end for me. I'm currently in 18th place, only 6 points ahead of Mr Chambers.  If he can pull off a good one at Hursley then he's got me. 

RR10 2016: Whiteley

On 13 July I ran in the new RR10 course at Whiteley.  Awful traffic getting there, but a whole new patch of woodland opened behind all the urban sprawl and everyone was curious about this brand-new venue.

It was a fantastically narrow start on a gravel track, but after a mile or so we were into woodland trails, and at this point the fun began.  Highly technical swervy narrow paths with hazards everywhere.  The organisers had very diligently painted the more deadly tree roots, but most of them weren't visible until the heels of the runner in front had cleared them.  There were a couple of wooden bridges that would have been lethal on a wet day.  There was no hope of keeping any bearings; Ijust ploughed on and on, hither and thither, until I emerged back on the gravel track with a final charge to the finish.

 

I finished in a lather on the ground... so much so that the first aid bloke came to check up on me.  Plenty of others came in covered with mud after taking a tumble.  Lots of laughter all round.  I arrived in 19th place - good to snreak in to the top 20.  A super event.