Haselbury Trail

Wed. 4th Aug saw the Westgates at the Haselbury Trail Race. Once again blessed with fine weather although at times the wind was strong enough for me to draught behind a large bloke.It's reassuring to know that some things in life remain the same; there's the same field where a herd of cows threaten to charge the unwary runner as he threads his way down to the gate. Another hazard was the bright sun low in the sky blinding even through sunglasses as we picked our way up the stony track. (Lesley came well prepared with a peaked cap which solved the problem, however she thinks she left the favourite cap in the clubhouse)

After the initial downhill charge I settled into a reasonable pace without pushing too hard. My target and rival Paul Chadwick went on ahead. It took some time to catch him and on a grassy downhill I changed gear, went past and gradually built a 53 second lead by the finish. My next target became Pete Jakeman who for a couple of miles was only 3 places ahead. Off road suits me and I thought I would have enough advantage to catch him but he kept up a very strong pace. Towards the finish two youngsters (probably under 16) went past putting 5 runners between us. Pete might be fairly ancient but he can certainly show a clean pair of heels!

Thanks to Ironman Phil for cheering us on at various places; it does make a difference even on a short race like this. My 47:18 was my 2nd best in several attempts. Lesley's 55:15 was her best. Also present were Martin and Lin both recording good times 43:14 and 45:29 respectively earning 1st M vet 50 and 2nd F prizes. Martin's time a bit slower than in 2004 when he posted 42:37 finishing 12th although he was 9th this year. Overal another good race and I think everyone mentioned enjoyed it and were pleased with the results.