Exmoor Stagger Revisited

Last Sunday was a perfect morning for a jaunt across Exmoor and the conditions for our fourth running of the Exmoor Stagger, and my first visit since 2006, could not have been better. We gathered on the start line with the usual suspects from Maiden Newton (aka Richard and Lesley) amongst the 230 strong field of runners in the sort of good spirits that only a tough, hilly 16 mile race in bright autumn sunshine can inspire.

An entertaining briefing from an exuberant race director was followed by a short walk to the start line and at 11am sharp we were off at the start of the lung bursting ascent to the far distant Dunkery Beacon.

The route starts to climb almost immediately, then climbs some more, continues to climb for a bit further........you get the idea, it’s basically uphill! After the first couple of miles the race splits, the hardy Staggerers turn right for more torture and the lucky Stumblers turn left to cover the short distance back down to Minehead. This year Richard was amongst the Stumblers as he had decided that his stomach could not endure the real deal.

At this point I realised that I had been running past glorious views without actually noticing them, so I tried to appreciate the stunning vista of moors, forest and the distant sea. That lasted for about 2 seconds and then my focus returned to the task ahead. I was having a bit of a tussle with a female Bitton Road Runner but fortunately she was not as strong as me on the hills and soon fell back. This left me to concentrate on Richard Boulter from Yeovil who I decided must be beaten at all costs!!

A welcome stretch of downhill to the picturesque village of Wootton Courtenay followed and at this point a marshal called out to me “Well done, first lady” which I thought was a load of rubbish as I knew there was at least one speedy woman up ahead. After another three marshals had called out the same thing it occurred to me that they couldn’t all be wrong and that my speedy rival must be doing the Stumble. This gave my legs a burst of strength and there was another incentive – an occasional flash of a silver Maiden Newton vest up ahead. I knew Martin was worried that his recovery from the marathon had not been as swift as mine and that the Stagger is the sort of race where my chances of beating him are strongest and so it proved as I gradually reeled him in.

As we toiled up the final slopes of Dunkery Beacon Richard Boulter began to pull away from me, I caught and overtook Martin and was myself caught and overtaken by an unknown female. I concentrated on trying to put as much distance between myself and Martin as I could because I was sure that he would come crashing back past me on the long steep downhill stretch off the Beacon. I finally reached the summit and began the treacherous slippery descent and although I took it quite carefully I gained the lost ground back on Richard and stayed ahead of Martin.

On reaching the bottom there is a nice section of fairly level path round the side of a steep valley and on this part of the course, knowing that the bulk of the hard work was behind me, I finally passed Richard and managed to open up a lead on him. Unfortunately this meant that I had no-one to follow and I spent an anxious half mile or so hurtling down a muddy track with a distinct feeling that I had missed a turning and was heading in the wrong direction. It was with great relief that I came out onto a short stretch of road, saw both a marshal and the runner ahead of me as I came back into Wootton Courtenay.

As I turned off the road and began the infamous climb back up to the ridge above Minehead I saw my female rival walking up ahead and thought, perhaps I can catch her up if I just run up this hill. Nice idea but I only managed to run the first ten paces or so and then subsided into a plod like everyone else. I had completely forgotten how hard this part of the course is. I managed to overhaul one runner ahead of me but the girl had disappeared into the woods and I didn’t see her again until after the finish.

After finally reaching the top, a section of easy running on wide forest tracks follows before the descent back into Minehead. As I turned the final corner and saw the clock ahead I knew I was going to be slightly outside my previous best time here (2.17.04) but I was more than happy with my second place in the ladies race, a rare victory over Martin and my final time of 2.17.54. What a perfect day!

Martin came trotting down the road shortly afterwards looking like he’d been out for Sunday stroll and we beat a hasty retreat to the Race HQ in order to avoid the queues for the excellent and very reasonably priced refreshments. A bit of a wait for the presentation but another clean sweep by Maiden Newton Runners: Martin was 2nd V55 in the main race and Richard was 2nd V55 in the Stumble, Lesley picked up yet another V55 prize, beaten into second place only by the speedy Jenny Mills, and I was 2nd overall and 1st V45.

The only downside was the hideous bright orange T shirt on offer. What I always want to know is who decides what colour the race t-shirts will be, and who in their right mind would think that anyone would actually want a bright orange one? Fortunately I had my hands full with bottles of wine so I had to leave mine behind!