18th July Pints and Pork scratchings (R 32)
Since its inception in 2021 the number of people running has almost doubled with huge representations in this edition from RedHill and Hucknall runners who seemed to be in competition as to who could provide the most runners. In contrast Ravenshead Runners had less than a handful on show. But it's quality rather than quantity that counts.
As a result the start, with 253 runners and assorted dogs was rather congested and slow which was a bit frustrating but probably not a bad thing given the lumpy nature of the course and the four hills that lay ahead which thankfully didn't appear as bad as I had remembered.
I felt as if I was running okay in the first section and had memories of pausing much more frequently when I had run it back in 2022. Perhaps all the extra running this year has paid off. And it is a lovely scenic route to run on what was a beautiful summers evening during which the threatened rain held off.
Strangely just like at the Crich Monument run last weekend, the hardest bits were the flattest sections once again or perhaps they just appear at the point in the run when I am starting to have Bambi legs. But they seemed to go on for eternity or certainly for longer than I remembered. Still there were enough people running around me to act as pacemakers even if their pace meant they slowly but surely disappeared into the distance.
What I did recall however was that the last section of the race was mainly downhill, even if I hadn't remembered just how long it was. All of which meant that I crossed the finish line in an almost identical time to the one I had run two years ago. Well 32 seconds quicker actually but who's counting. I am thats who!!!! Plus I got a fantastic photo to boot, one that actually shows me running for once, rather than pausing to admire the view.
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