Mark, Haz, Me and Rod before the race.
With my ankle taped up, we made the short trip up to Dumfries for the "Reeds Runners" debut.
I had not been able to run since Dale Head a week ago and was in two minds whether to run it, not wanting to make a slight injury turn into a 6 wk lay off, but to be fair we all had problems leading up to it, Rod's knackered knee, Mark's Groin and Heel (no training in the last 3 wks) and Haz's 25 fags a day!
Haz also had the added pressure of been tipped by the local newspaper as the one to watch. Dumfries Standard
Triumphant Haz
The race itself from my point of view was very tough, not hilly, but very long in parts. I found the 1st few miles quite hard, not getting into my relaxed stride up until about mile 5, where it seemed everyone who passed me, flew past me, making it very hard for me to get on to someones shoulder. I spent a lot of the race running by myself.
At about mile 9 or 10 the first lady caught me up, and it wasn't til this point that I had someone to run with at a pace that felt comfortable (to be honest I was surprised she never flew past me too), so for the last few miles we managed to catch and over take another 3 runners who were a bit ahead of us before we started running together. At the end she came up to me to thank me, but really it should of been me thanking her.
At about mile 9 or 10 the first lady caught me up, and it wasn't til this point that I had someone to run with at a pace that felt comfortable (to be honest I was surprised she never flew past me too), so for the last few miles we managed to catch and over take another 3 runners who were a bit ahead of us before we started running together. At the end she came up to me to thank me, but really it should of been me thanking her.
Rod Strolling In.
I do prefer fell racing to road racing for the simple reason , you get to catch your breath in fell running where as in road running, its flat out, all the way to the finish line, but that's just my opinion.
Back to Reeds Runners and it was a very creditable performance with Rod doing a fantastic 1.32, Mark doing 1.57(remarkable considering his 3 wk taper) and local favourite Haz doing 2.05 knocking 5 Min's of his Pb, under 2 hours easily next time!
Mark Finishing.
Next year entrants discussing tactics.
On Saturday I spent a very enjoyable 2 hours at the Theatre By The Lake, Keswick, listening to Fell Running Legend Joss Naylor who was giving a talk on his life. A truly remarkable man.
More Dumfries Photos
More Dumfries Photos
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