Originally Posted by
Tindersticks
I was undecided about doing today's race. I'm trying not to race so much this year, it's got a bit ridiculous over the past 5 years. I want to see if less racing will produce quality times over quantity of races and after doing yesterday's Stan Bradshaw I'd had my weekend 'fix'. The impending night shift only a few hours away should of made the decision for me but I'd hatched a plan to decide my fate....if the race venue is more that 1 hrs drive from home I'm not going.
So computer it was up to you!
Route planner located and Marsden typed in....44 miles 58 minutes...the computer says yes, it's less than 1hr and I'm off. Never trust your computer, it's a Pandora's Box of lies and deceit. It took well over 1hr, does the bloody computer not know about the average speed cameras on the M60?
Anyway on arrival it's evident they've had plenty snow around these parts and it should make for interesting conditions. I'm not overly familiar with the area having only been here once for The Trigger and walking the Pennine Way years ago. What's the thing with Cricket clubs and fellraces, I've lost count how many races start/finish at a Cricket venue, in fact I'm bowled over.
At the start line, which is 10 minutes gentle jog from registration, it's looking pretty obvious who today's winner would be barring any mishaps...step forward Ben Mounsey. And he didn't disappoint, if anything Ben excelled...he left us all marvelling at the sheer pace he raced away at, tortoise's and the hare but this time with no fairytale ending, he wasn't going to be caught. What's even more impressive is the fact Ben made footsteps for us all in the 6-12 inches of snow and still the bugger was out of sight! .....great to see all Ben's hard work paying off, cracking lad.
It was hard going today no matter where you found yourself in the pack. The snow wasn't powder, it was a heavy going 'leg lifting' type of consistency which really drained the energy levels...no runnable path was formed, it was more a case of dropping into the previous sunken foot prints. Really enjoyed the steep descent down snow covered peat that dropped down towards a little stream, if you let yourself go it felt like being on a downwards escalator.
Thought today's conditions really favoured the race making usually tough going trussucks an absolute dream to run across. Really glad my computer got it wrong, had a wonderful morning in great company....beltin.
Cheers to Phil and all his helpers.
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