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Thread: Mercia Hill Trial

  1. #11
    Master Travs's Avatar
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    A fantastic race today. Perfect Mountain Trial conditions, i.e. about 50 yard visibility for the entire course.

    I don't really know these hills once off the race routes so was a bit apprehensive, even more so when we were bundled onto a coach and driven to the mystery start location (turned out to be Cardington). Even more so when it turned out I'd be the very last to start, so nobody coming up behind me.... and yet more so when I realised the first 4 cp's were on hills that I'd never previously set foot on.

    I made a good start and over the first couple of cp's managed to catch 4 or 5 in front, but then disaster struck as I appear to have followed an incorrect fence-line, and the error appears to have snowballed from there (eventually realising I was at least a mile off-course and had in fact gone off the race map). Managed to pull myself back from the brink of another dnf but probably lost 20-25mins on that cp.

    The 2nd half of the trial took place on the Long Mynd side of the main road, so much more familiar with the lay of the land. I expect the results will show a much more impressive split on this section... straightlined nearly everything in order to pull back time, which I must admit was tough on the legs as involved some nasty ascents and descents.

    Trundled in to the finish in 3hrs10 which was approx an hour behind the winner.

    A great experience and learned a lot. Mistakes were made but didn't panic (too much) and got round a tough nav event in zero visibility. I'm sure when I see the results though I'll be a little frustrated as I expect the time lost will have cost me a fair few places... although I was far from the only person to go walkabout in rural Shropshire today!

  2. #12
    Master Travs's Avatar
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    The Mercia Hill Trial was over on Middletown Hill/Golfa/Rodneys Pillar today... hills of Breidden Hill Fell Race fame. I only know these hills from running the race route across them, and knew little about them except for steepness and a lot of forest sections.

    Course was interesting and tough... to get an (advertised) 10 mile mountain trial out of a relatively small geographical area obviously requires some imagination, and i think Dave the RO did a great job... a bit too much woodland running and navigating for my tastes, but that is probably a personal gripe rather than a complaint, as i prefer open mountainside and route choice.

    But that said, a good course, and if they don't try to take it to different areas it would just end up being on the main Long Mynd range every year, which would be no good either.

    As to my own race, well frankly it was a disaster.... i noticed some way after cp1 that i had caught my map case on some thorns, it had ripped open and i had lost my map. I frantically retraced my steps and found the map, but it was damp, ripped, and my mapcase was now useless.

    Still i carried on, admittedly having to use guesswork on some sections where my map had disintegrated. All was going ok until about cp8 when the inevitable massive howler occurred. Ended up taking 36mins on what really should have been under 10mins for the leg. From then on i regained some composure and performance. Final cp was on the summit of Middletown Hill, and all that remained was to run down the ridge and take a left back to the finish... however my map was know completely useless and i'd given up on it... the final insult was struggling to find my way back through a quarry to the finish, and i trundled in after 3hrs53, having ran 16 miles.... it was advertised as 10, but i'd be surprised if anybody actually ran less than 12 or 13.

    It was a good run out. All that remains is to see the final results and see if i am able to join in the thread on here "have you finished last in a fell race...?"
    Last edited by Travs; 23-01-2022 at 06:13 PM.

  3. #13
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    Actually finished 13th/18 which doesn't sound quite so devastating... although took a full half an hour longer than nearly everyone on one leg, and had the slowest time on another leg....

    Otherwise i seem to have ran reasonably well.

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