I have moved my blog over to Chris' site as I was getting bored of having to keep logging in and out on his machine and although I may be a trail running meerkat I am at heart, lazy.
I have not entered many competitions for a few weeks but I have been out training and running, especially on hills and in particular Blue Bell Hill here in Kent. In the last few weeks the weather has, as it has been all over England been pretty wet.
Anyways this article is mostly about the Bookham10K that we ran (along with Sharry) at the beginning of February.
At first the event felt small, parking was along a street in a very (for us) posh looking area in Surrey. We were not sure how long the journey would take us, both because neither Chris nor Sharry had been to Great Bookham before (I haven't been anywhere it feels like at times). So we wandered down to the race HQ which was a local primary school and were met with what started to feel like a quaint little event with a, on paper at least, fairly large field.
Registration was nice and everyone seemed friendly, there were sandwiches and flasks of tea set aside for the volunteer marshalls which I felt was a really nice touch. We got our race numbers and wandered back to the car to warm up and get changed - well not really me I just put my Buff on!
Ready to run!
It was on the second walk down to race HQ that everything started to feel a bit more serious. Normally I am assailed by music for group warm ups and the unmistakable smell of deep heat or muscle rubs. This time what surprised me was the amount of athletics club shirts. With that came lots of people who looked very serious indeed, quite a few people had compression socks on before the race!
So we lined up towards the front of the pack for the race briefing. This was both humorous and a little bit scary - the fact they wanted to classify it as a duathlon due to the flooding on one part of the course worried me. I have a very low ground clearance remember.
We then had to give a rendition of God Save the Queen. This is something I did not expect and neither did Sharry or Chris. We joined in and I must say it was sung with gusto and heart by the other competitors.
Then the countdown began with the klaxon waiting to send us off.
We knew it would be hard. We knew it would be hilly. We decided we didn't care. All or nothing and we weren't giving this event nothing.
The klaxon goes.
The running begins.
Up a hill.
Still on road.
Down a track.
This was one of the most challenging courses I can remember running. It wasn't the distance but the ground was very soft - there was a no overtaking zone (I was personally told not to overtake at this point)! - it was very hilly with a tidy 700ft elevation gain split among two very impressive hills. However what ruined us the most, I feel, was setting out at a quick pace.
Whether this was actually a quick pace or not I don't care, it felt quick and it felt tough. By the time we were running around a fallen tree and the top of the first major hill I was ruined. Utterly and completely. My mind was gone and if it wasn't for the fact that we finish, we don't quit when we are not injured, I would have walked. In fact it wasn't until just over half way when we hit a water station that I felt comfortable again.
It was about this time, and having fallen down the field a bit, that I began to chat to a few competitors a bit more and have a bit of 'banter' with some of the marshals - who were all very lovely and supportive.
There was also a nice downhill section which gave the tired legs a little bit of respite and a chance to recover. It also allowed more of a reflection on the absolutely stunning location the race was taking place in. Seriously the hills and woods around that area of Surrey are lovely. I would imagine if you were to take a relaxing walk around there and maybe end in up in a pub with a nice pint then it would not be a bad thing to do at all!
So we finally made it to the last part and the mammoth puddle in the flooded single track. Fortunately my experiences at Hell Runner and the Grim run have meant I have a a foolproof way of surviving these water obstacles. I jump on Chris' shoulders.
Following on from wading through the puddle we reached the last leg, on tarmac, back to the school. We finished strongly and challenged a gentleman to a sprint finish, which we narrowly won - sorry Paul Holland - and finished in a respectable 1:01:43 (search number 110).
There we were given a chocolate bar which was inhaled, some water and our race completion t-shirt, which I don't think Chris has stopped wearing yet, was a very good one!
We clapped and cheered the rest of the field coming in, had a few chats with people and made our way back towards Maidstone for a much needed pub lunch!
Ruined after the race, note the awesome t-shirt!
I really enjoyed the Bookham 10k, I think because it was so hard I feel a real sense of achievement at finishing it and finishing strongly too. We all are aiming to run it again next year.
Finally it must be my photogenic nature but we seemed to have been tagged in a massive 23, yes 23!, photos on the race photograph website. Search for our race number, 110 to see me in my running glory!
I would have included one here but the copyright warning was pretty scary!
Until next time. Keep on running.
Nick.
