The Sydling Hill race is part of the bigger Giant's Head racing weekend, based on a Cerne Abbas theme; hence a general penis theme to the whole event, all in the best possible taste. The village green was the focus of activity, and it was a really charming venue in a fabulous Dorset village.
We set off, running up a road and as briefed took a marshalled left turn off the road. I followed the three guys at the front of the pack, before hearing a cry of 'stop' that made my heart sink. There were two left turns from the road and we'd taken the wrong one. Back again to the junction and gradually past the folk who were now ahead. After about 3k and the first proper hill I was back in 4th place. The teenager who had led from the start had now caught up and was in front again.
I gradually moved past two more runners, and I was gaining ground on the teenager. There were a few closed gates between fields which involved some fumbly manoeuvring. I was sitting comfortably in second place, and about halfway through the race, when the lad ahead quite suddenly pulled aside to let me past; he'd clearly set off way too fast.
Now in the lead, I kept the pressure up, nervous of footsteps behind me. Another long climb, and then along a lengthy undulating ridge at what felt like the roof of Dorset before plunging down back into Sydling St Nicholas and the finish line, my watch saying almost exactly 11k.
It was getting warm, and it was the first time this year that I had felt over-heated after a race. It had been wonderful fun. I got a bag full of beer and a plaque, plus a medal and a t-shirt which is striking but one that I'm not sure I can ever wear.
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| All medalled up and ready to go |
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| Not sure about wearing the t-shirt |
Here are my stats, here are the results, and here's a Strava flyby showing the battle among the top 3.
A lovely race!
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