RR10 IBM Hursley - Race Report

I can’t pretend that I was looking forward to the last RR10 of the season.  The parkland around IBM Hursley is lovely – but it feels more like 3 laps of a cricket ground than a proper cross country experience.  And there is the issue of being lapped which is never a positive experience for a plodder like me!

Having said all that, the atmosphere was great.  21 of us ran, Simone came to support as did Sarah N’s family (with a very cute spaniel) and Nikki’s daughter.   As it is the last race of the season, team photos were taken & I think we all look rather lovely – although Tracey was facing the loo queue & missed it.  Loos are a positive feature of this RR10 though – unlike the Forest runs, there are some and unlike Itchen Valley, there are more than 1!  Many thanks to Paul Hammond for the fantastic pictures.

Team Photo - thanks to Paul Hammond

There may have been a briefing but this wasn’t audible from the back of the start crowd. 

Not too hot, not too windy, no rain & a dry 4.4 mile course.  One hill which started each of the 3 laps – I was heartened by a marshal who congratulated me for insisting running up it – albeit very, very slowly!  I managed to get a bit of speed on the first downhill & I may have been a little too jubilant at catching up with Louise – but this was predictably short lived as I found my natural plod pace.  Marian regretted not heeding wisdom from Louise to leave her sunnies behind in the wooded bits.

Siri looking speedy!  Thanks to Paul Hammond

Lapped at about ¾ of the way around lap 1 – one year I aim for this to happen in lap 2!  We agreed afterwards that although very well organised, it would be useful to instruct us which way to go when being lapped – e.g. move to the right to allow the speedies through.

Louise & Bridget - thanks to Paul Hammond

Lap 3 and it all went quiet – no more being overtaken.  I had a great chat with Wendy about an epic road trip she’s about to undertake to Morocco before deciding I really should make at least a little effort on my pace & attempted to catch up with Lisa W.  I failed to do this, but the 3 of us came in one after the other, cheered on by our lovely fellow Sisters.

Amazing run by all - Siri came in first, 37th woman over the finish line.  Jo G was next at 53 & then Claire D at 63 - still hampered by an arm problem.  Lisa G, Irma, Verity, Karen, Nicola and Sarah N all made it in the first 100 women.  Louise, Marian, Suzanne, Bridget, Nikki, Heather & Tracey all in together (pretty much!) followed by Lisa W, me and Wendy.  Tanya & Rachel did really well - both finished strongly.  Initial results are here.

I’m really pleased to have done 8 of the RR10s this year – and to have got a season score.  September will be cross country free – then starting the CC6 series in October.  

Salisbury 54321 - a race report from the back

Organised by Salisbury's Fire Services, this manages to feel like a not-too-massive race due to spreading runners over 5 distances with staggered start times – and adding in walkers too.  50K, 40K, 30K, 21K, 10K.

“Perfect weather for outdoor activities” according to an app on Louise’s phone – seemed a bit out of kilter when we were driving through rain to Salisbury this morning.  It had kind of stopped by the time we arrived, horribly early.  So early that we waved off all the distances before ours – and still managed not to spot Tanya & Jackie who were doing the marathon distance.

Killed time sitting on a log & trying not to look at people using bushes instead of a loo.  Weird though as the queues for the loos were remarkably short – probably down to the staggered start.  And the sun came out – a lovely morning that was indeed perfect for running.

Vicki saw us off as her 10K had a slightly later start time.  So did Clare L - somehow we managed to miss her!  Vicki & Clare must have "loved" the first bit as much as we did – a steep climb up to Old Sarum castle on a narrow path.  After that point, the 10K route went north where as our’s skirted the west of Salisbury with some interesting road junctions.  My knee was painful at Old Sarum – relieved that it recovered as soon as I was off the very cambered path.  Couldn’t see Lou & Marian though as I was already way behind – and felt a bit down about this.

Cheered up when I realised I wasn’t alone at my sedentary pace.  South west from Salisbury, the route took us into some gorgeous countryside at Clarendon Park.  Killer climb up to the top of a ridge, then down to Alderbury.  Woodland, fields, villages – and a mix of tarmac, gravel tracks and mud paths – varied views, very multi terrain.  Many of the tracks were not rights of way and we got to see bits of the Salisbury area we wouldn’t otherwise have seen –Longford Castle for example.

 

Checkpoints every couple of miles, well stocked with water & in some cases, jelly babies & fruit.  Only criticism is that the marshals weren’t always sharing knowledge on the route – which would have been useful as getting past loads of Cathedral visitors & shoppers in the city centre was very confusing – and made it difficult to spot the signs.

The final 500 metres were tough mentally.  My Garmin reckoned I’d done my 21K yet I wasn’t at the finish.  The path was along the river – lots of tourists to navigate around.  Worst was not getting a sense of where the end was!  Came up from the river and it was finally in sight – as were Louise & Marian, encouraging me to adopt a glamorous sprint for the last few metres!

We survived!  Not fast, but we did it.  Marian has some nasty blisters & I think I’ll be shopping for a new sports bra – but we were good.  Very grateful to Louise who happened to have enough cash on her to treat us to ice creams before heading for home.