So the lovely Mrs S and I had no qualms about getting up early on a bright sunny morning and heading west to Charmouth. It was surprisingly easy to find a space at the beach carpark, right up close to the action, and got our race numbers and slapped on suncream.
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| It's going to be a hot one |
Off we went, having been started by a town crier who was in splendid regalia but who I thought cheated slightly by talking into a microphone. The first km or so was flat, and then the road took a sharp inflection as we began the 180m climb up to Stonebarrow Hill. I overtook a few folk and felt good.
There was a good downhill section, not too technical, and at the bottom I cursed as I stopped to tie my laces up and heard footsteps approaching. Then immediately back up hill, ascending to Golden Cap.
I had been thinking that it would be good to avoid walking up the hills, but I was thwarted by the steps as I approached the summit which broke my stride. Plus, it was as steep as hell and I was quite happy to walk this bit. It was a really tremendous view from the top, and thank you to my lovely Mrs S for the photography!
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| Views from Golden Cap (thanks Mrs S) |
After a bit of bimbling about in the valley, the final ascent began, becoming increasingly steep. There had been three guys in view for a while, and I felt I was closing in on them. I overtook one of them as he was walking up the steep section,and I was confident that he was beaten. Oh no he wasn't! The descent had a steep, technical section of steps on a narrow twisty path and he came hurtling down behind me. 'Sorry mate', he called... I moved right, and nearly fell into thickets overhanging thin air. He hurtled past. I really wish I was more capable going downhill.
It was almost all over. There was a long descent into Charmouth, the finish gantry clearly visible. I was never going to catch the three blokes ahead but I ran as fast as I could down to the bridge and up the cruel little hill to the finish.
Beating the hour was never a real objective, but I was really chuffed to finish in just over 59 minutes in 9th place and 1st M50. Here are my stats. Mrs S had a tremendous outing and the presentation was very charming. We chatted to the first man, James Baker (from Chichester) and the first lady, Helen Wallington, from Totton.
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| Waiting for Mrs S, and briefly alarmed about where she was heading |
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| Ah, here she is! |
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| Unusual M50 prize |
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