Hogweed Muggles

Magic or no magic? No sign of Dumbledore or the Weasleys.
At short notice I decided to follow Grubby’s lead and head into the English countryside for this multi-terrain event. There were a few different routes on offer and we both decided to go for the Mimsy Muddle – the middle distance (or was it the longest course for wimps). It was advertised as 10.9 miles with a tempting 1000ft of climb.
Registering I took a look at the footwear the other runners were wearing. A bit of a mix but a high proportion of dazzling white – indicating clean, smooth terrain or a bunch or roadie amateurs. One or two of the fitter looking had more serious shoes so I decided on my knackered Walshes as a good compromise. Grubby was in his Inov8’s but like me had no real idea of the terrain.
The start was not chaotic, just a bit relaxed. The long route went off first and we followed 5 minutes later with a run down a nice grassy valley. Little in the way of mud. This nice descent went on for a good mile and eventually led to a road. I felt a bit girly with Andy running on my shoulder all the while and we joked about finishing hand in hand!
We were getting a bit worried with no climb in the first few miles but then they found one for us. A good farm track that just got steeper and steeper. It was close to being runnable but just tipped over the edge for me – surprisingly also for Andy and I gained a few metres on him. Soon enough though he was back on my shoulder.
A mix of grass, path and track led us back to familiar ground. That first valley we dropped down was indeed now uphill, and looking back at the route in the comfort of home I see it was a different valley. It felt the same to me.
They managed to find a sting in the tail with a steep field to gasp up not far from the finish. Again I managed to gain a few metres, and again he managed to once again get back to my left shoulder (always my left shoulder?). He did have the courtesy not to try to outsprint me at the finish and no – we didn’t finish hand in hand!
A short walk back to the HQ for a drink. I bought Andy some squash and Matthew still owes me £1.50 from the Mendip Muddle.
All finished and back home for a bath before lunchtime.
Not a classic but good enough and well marshalled.

Mendip Muddle

Right Legs

Wrong shoes

Great race!

The Muddle is one of those classic races if you get the right conditions and the right frame of mind. Today we had the right conditions – rain, mud and wind. Team Chepstow were up to the challenge, with Niki, Matthew & Gerry ably supported by the team manager and limo provider for the day – Andy C. Meeting at the leisure centre Andy refused the offer of a road map to find the muddy field in the back of beyond and navigated there flawlessly whilst telling us about his disastrous orienteering, with a map, the day before. The closer we got, the wetter it became. Surprisingly the car park was busy, with more than 250 other nutters.

As in past years the organisation was superb. Me taking over Andy’s entry was fuss free and done with a smile and the many marshals round the course all seemed happy despite the weather.

Too cold and wet for a warm up (it was warmer inside and then huddling up with others at the start – 3 of us trying to shelter under Andy’s girlie umbrella.
The start was the usual Muddle muddle. There are a few opportunities to use the alternative overtaking manoeuvres. As Andy has taught us, overtaking is not just about running faster, it requires nimble footwork, use of elbows, some flexibility with the route (e.g. through hedges rather than through gates) whilst risking the odd slip and slide. It was in this section, perhaps during one of Niki’s nanoseconds of zen-like calm that I managed to get ahead of her. I knew from her recent form that she would fight back.

Surprisingly for me the climbs were on my side. The descents, usually good for me were a bit of a glissade. The rocky climbs needed so much concentration I forgot it was tiring and the longer grassy climbs always seemed to have someone in front of me with a bulls-eye on their back – I can take him!

At about 5 miles Niki came past me. I felt right on the limit (any faster and I would end up slower if you get my drift), and she glided past, seemingly without effort. I managed to track her for the rest of the race. Occasionally I got up close – only 10m behind at the end of the last climb. When she started reaching into the back of her lycra’s I thought perhaps she had lost concentration, but out came a gel. It wasn’t the sign of weakness that, if I waere competitive I would have welcomed. Instead she gained a glucose energy burst that I couldn’t match. I chased her down the hill and into the finish. I would like to say it was gallantry that let her win – but on the day she was better than me, though only just.

The Team Chepstow was all there at the finish. The order as predicted. Matthew’s 20^th place another excellent result. Niki was well pleased with her time and I felt great – possibly my best race of the year. Just a bit quicker than last year (2008 – 2:17:06; 2009 1:50:43).

Time to change and into the centre for a nice coffee and a slab of chocolate cake (Matthew still owes me £1.50) and a bit of a wait for the presentation. Results were published on the day and now available on their website .

Niki was presented with the only trophy, and a membership of a gym which she traded in for 3 bottles of beer. What a girl!

Thanks to Andy and the rest of the crew for a good day out. And to Niki for her posting on the Chepstow Blog.

Ps We think Helen Fines broke the course record – a great result considering the conditions.

The Beast – Poole ac

Today I was back to running with a good tough race down in Dorset, from Corfe Castle. The race was one of the Chepstow Harriers club championship events but either the nature of the beast (sorry!) or the distance put many people off. There were only 11 there so good points for those chasing glory.
The event was run by Poole Athletic Club and is obviously a popular event with 501 finishers. The downside to the popularity was the long wait at a number of stiles. I timed perhaps the worst with me stationary for 56 seconds.
The course was great. An initial loop – I guess essential to try to ease congestion on the stiles, then a trog up and down towards the coast. Once you got to the sea the views were superb.
The tough bits, the claim to fame, were 2 climbs on the coast path with lots of steps. The first of these also had a steep descent as an introduction.
With my alpine training and too little running I found the climbs a welcome interlude (it still hurt!) but felt slow on the flat running. The steep descent was good for me with a narrow strip of grass allowing me to overtake at least 20 people.
I was very pleased with my run. It took me 1h 57m 31s for what the Garmin clocked as 12.3 miles and 500m climb. (The Garmin reports me stationary for 6 minutes but I don’t think it was that bad)
I was beaten by Dick, Lou and Niki, but was ahead of Andy C, Neil and Vanessa.
Definitely happy with the result and worth the effort.
See also the Chepstow Blog

Mendip Muddle multi-terrain race

The Mendip Muddle is a good off road event. It was originally guessed at 12 miles, in modern money converted to 20km but this year remeasured at 13.1 miles, 21km or half marathon distance. Garmin 305 said more like 20.5 – did I really find that many corners to cut?

Chepstow Harriers as a club did well. It was one of the club championship races which encouraged a good tunrnout. Steve Caldwell and Martin Pengilly did very well – a shame there wasn’t a team prize. As for me it was a real disaster. I recognise that I am very inconsistent – is this physical, psychological or most likely a mix of both. Anyway, the Me that turned up was in a bit of a state. Slow and unsteady. Sue beat me by 17 minutes – and she reckoned she wasn’t running well.

When asked if I had enjoyed the run I tried to mix honesty with positivity – the honest answer – no but that was no criticism of the race – just of the runner. It is a good tough route. The terrain doesn’t allow much easy running – the sort where you just go into a bit of a trance and keep pushing. There were too many rocks, puddles, stiles and undulations to let you settle, but this is part of the event. The countryside is great and it is well organised. Definitely one to add to your calendar. I’ll be back sometime.