First time doing this race and a pretty late entry for this year..
Travelled down on the day to collect numbers from the town hall. Ample parking behind the high street and free on a Sunday too.
Nunber collected rather early so went back to the car for a snack and my running vest. A few showers passed and i changed to shorts once i seen clear skies. All sorted we headed to back to the now very busy high street and the race set off with no issues.
Legs feeling good we all headed along the high street through the crowds and the cheering. Passing my fiance for a quick good luck wave...turned off high street and met the silence... turned a corner and approached a hill.. then flat. The first 4 miles seemed to be a slow uphill all the way with some down sections to catch yr breath. Water station at the half way point was a welcoming relief as the weather had turned very warm (glad of the clothing change at this point) The route was a loop around the area with a finish back on the high street. 4 miles in and it seemed relentless for someone who doesnt really like hills!! Note to self..must train on inclines haha
The final mile and half was downhill ish.. but a breeze compared to what had just been. Approaching the high street you could hear the cheering which gave me a lift and the thought of a nice cool drink was great. Passing all the cheers i heard my fiance shout out so attempted a sprint finish.. i had known during the hill section i wasn't gping to pb but still happy with a sub 56 minutes.
Greeted by a bottle of water and a medal along with a t shirt to match my newly bought trainers i was very pleased.. a very cheap run to enter and goodies to be had..
I will enter this again although it does clash with races i want to do in the next few years..
Overall a fab race, well set out and marshalled!