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Thread: Skirrid Race - South Wales

  1. #61
    Master Wheeze's Avatar
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    And another year rolls by and yet again, the Skirrid race is the perfect antidote to Christmas shopping. Why bother with bonhomie, warm shops, bright lights and cheery folks singing lovely carols for a few coppers when you can freeze your nuts off, get covered in mud, have thorns in yer bum and risk life and limb skittering through lethal rocks??? No choice at all, is it?

    Obviously not, judging by the HORDES who descended on this festive mudlark. How many started? 120? 130?? more? its getting crazy. Poor Llanvihangel Crucorney. The good denizens must have wondered what the hell was going on as their village was rammed to the gills with cars. Mr Creber may be having to make alternative arrangements if it carries on like this!

    Top day out!
    Simon Blease
    Monmouth

  2. #62
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    Didnt post after 2015 race....too embarrassed by a serious navigational cock up!
    No problems this year as the fog had lifted. Probably the best conditions ever for the race and possibly the biggest field with 147 nutters from all corners.
    It's just a perfect distillation of everything that is wonderful about fell racing. A classic course that is like four seasons in one race....sapping runnable climb, bonkers skitter down lethal rocks, ridiculously steep second climb, never ending flat out descent. A brilliant race HQ in the oldest pub in Wales. A slightly deranged RO who mixes daft banter with effective organisation.
    No wonder it attracts such a good field.
    Simon Blease
    Monmouth

  3. #63
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    my first time this year and have to agree with all of the above: fantastic race with a little bit of everything.
    ....it's all downhill from here.

  4. #64
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    Hoping to get across for this on Saturday...

    There was me thinking is was a simple little up-and-down, no technical difficulty, until I read the previous 7 pages...

    Very short and incredibly technical by the sound of it... my comfort zone is about to be shot to pieces.

  5. #65
    Master Wheeze's Avatar
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    Oh yeah Travs. Sharpen your studs and elbows, leave your brain in a safe place and make sure you've done a will.
    Simon Blease
    Monmouth

  6. #66
    Master Travs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheeze View Post
    Oh yeah Travs. Sharpen your studs and elbows, leave your brain in a safe place and make sure you've done a will.
    I note with some worry that in the results, splits are published showing ascent and descent...

    I may well be troubling the Guinness Book Of Records for most places lost on a descent.

  7. #67
    Master Dave_Mole's Avatar
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    most places lost on a descent
    nah, that'll be me
    ....it's all downhill from here.

  8. #68
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    I have a cunning plan. By getting to the top dead last I will avoid winning the most-passed-on-the-descent prize!
    Simon Blease
    Monmouth

  9. #69
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    A great day out at Skirrid today, well worth the journey (in fact only 1hr45 from Cov to the Skirrid Inn)

    A great race with a bit of everything.... a cross-country style start and finish, runnable climbs, technical stuff...

    Particularly enjoyed the RO briefing.... very entertaining but with a background of seriousness.... along the lines of “I don’t mind you being slow, but give it your best effort, I don’t want anyone walking round giving the sweeper their life story....” and “I am the first aider, but this is a fell race.... anything less than 10 stitches and you look after yourself.... anything worse and you’re still expected to get back down to the pub, as I’ll be in the bar...!”

    As to the race, a good turn out of 117, which is slightly down on the last couple of years, but it was not exactly tropical, was incredibly muddy, and the wind on top was most unpleasant and cold...

    For my part, another race of two halves.... strong uphill, but mediocre downhill (i say mediocre, but when the ascent/descent splits are published, I may revise that to absolutely pathetic downhill)

    Hovering just outside the top 20 through the first fields, and as they steadily got steeper, picked up places to move into the top 20.... however when we hit the fell proper, it was so slippery that running wasn’t really gaining anything, so it became a trudge up to the ridge... on the boulder field managed to lose about three places and perhaps 20 seconds, but wasn’t as bad as expected...

    The steep climb up to the summit proper was just that.... steep! And windy... thankfully didn’t wear the trademark baseball cap today, as it would be somewhere in the Bay Of Biscay about now...

    Reached the summit in around 26:30.... had been hoping before to get around 25 mins but no chance for me with the underfoot conditions...

    Next came the descent... not knowing the lie of the land, I took the safe option down the flagged route.... I actually thought this was a worse route as it was short, muddy grass, and no grip at all.... soon moved well to the right onto the vegetation which gave more friction and grip, but I noticed most of the field a good 100 metres over to the right, obviously local knowledge, and they were streaming past me...

    Regained some pride through the fields as was in a 5-way battle which I managed to win, with a gradual increase in pace rather than an all out sprint finish. Figured the best way to hold my place was to gradually take the punch out of the other’s sprint finish, rather than opt for a shootout in the final field!

    28th in 37:35.... had hoped for 35 mins based on 25 mins up and 10 down, instead I reckon it was more like 26:30 up and 11 down...

    Could certainly knock a bit off that if I ran it again tomorrow, now knowing the course and where the best line down is.... but I’d still need a big improvement in descending ability to challenge the top 15 or so...

    Didn’t see DaveMole, sorry I missed you, or perhaps you didn’t make it...

    The Skirrid Inn was nice.... didn’t see any ghosts though.... perhaps the scariest sight (for normal people enjoying their meals) was the sight of my bare feet as I staggered round the bar trying to get warm...

    Followed by a chip shop tea in Mardy.... and back home by half 5....

    A great day... the only disappointment being that I could unexpectedly pick up BBC Cov & Warks shortly after crossing back over the border at Monmouth, therefore being forced to listen to CCFC successfully turn a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 defeat against Shrewsbury...

    Highly recommend this race...

    Pete
    Last edited by Travs; 14-12-2019 at 08:47 PM.

  10. #70
    Master Wheeze's Avatar
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    Well done Travs. Did not manage to get there this year. But I knew it would be well muddy !

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