The weather had been really cold over the last few days, so I brought gloves, hats and thermal tops with me, but it was a relatively warm 8 degrees by the time the race started so it was singlet job, and I plumped for road shoes after a rain-free fortnight.
We set off at the exceptionally feeble starter's whistle, up over the downs, into a valley and then up a long steady climb to Walton on the Hill. A couple of guys at the start were telling me to brace myself for a fearsome ascent but it was fine - nothing too steep, just set in to the right gear. From Walton there was ac steep downhill road section and then another climb back up to the racecourse, and so endeth Lap 1.
I was buoyed up by seeing Mrs S at the start of Lap 2, and was feeling good. A bald bloke challenged me on the long road hill. I dug in next to him, thinking he must be 50-something and not wanting to let him go. But he powered on ahead. I was overtaken by a couple of young triathletes on the downhill section after Walton and wondered if I had overcooked the pace at the start, but I was reassured when I overtook a clutch of runners on the long earth path up to the downs.
With a km to go I moved up a gear and pushed hard on the final section. I looked behind but saw no one... but shortly after this spectators were clearly yelling to someone behind me. I glanced back, saw a bloke right on my tail and hoofed it home, just a second ahead of him, in 1:03:23.
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| He's behind you! |
Great fun, and far more satisfying than last week's Twixmas race. I asked the bald guy what category he was. M45, he replied. So it was worth hanging on for the presentations, just in case. I was immensely pleased to get the M50 prize, a whopping £70 voucher. A super, no-nonsense proper race, and a great start to the year.
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| It's polite to curtsey at race presentations |
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| Takeaways from a cracking race |
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