Avebury 8/9, 2019

This was our third outing to this race in a row, and it's quickly become an annual highlight.  The lovely Mrs S, Abi (another lover of hills and mud) and I drove to Avebury on a still morning with the landscape wreathed in mist. We arrived in plenty of time, but after a bit of pfaffing around getting numbers and going to and from the car, we had to jog to get to the start line in time.

Lovely to be back in Avebury

Pre-race pfaffing with a smile

At the start I met old Avebury friends Craig and Courteney (AKA Chez) and we had a terrific race briefing that went something like this: 'Listen up everyone, because this is the race briefing.  There will be lots of mud.  Enjoy it!  Briefing over'. Now that's what I call a classy briefing.

We set off, and I quite quickly found myself in third place behind Chez and then Craig.  I overtook Craig on the long drag up to Windmill hill, and almost took a dive on the steep downhill section which was a maelstrom of roots, ruts and deep puddles.  Settling down after this excitement I was overtaken by a guy in blue, and the pattern was thus set for the rest of the race.

The recent rains had made the course quite thrilling in places, where it was a real challenge picking a good line.  The infamous ploughed field was as claggy as ever, and the long rutted drag uphill after Yatesbury was a real challenge.  I felt good and kept the pressure up.

Unfortunately the course had to be diverted from its traditional route over the top of Windmill Hill and across the water meadows because of an excess of water, so the final section was the reverse of the start.  I kept expecting to hear Craig's footsteps behind me and kept up the pressure, but I was safe by this stage and I heaved over the line in third place, the same as last year.  I finished in a satisfactory 56:59, faster than in previous years, but the change of course makes comparison meaningless.

The ladies finish after 9 miles of chat

And so back to the village hall for tea, cakes and the presentation.  This really is one of the jolliest and heartiest races you'll find anywhere.

Tea always tastes better from Marlborough RC mugs

The winnings