Babcary 7.5 mile race x 2 +2 = 17

by Martin

Our Sub-3 Training plan called for a 17 mile run at "long run pace" this Sunday, but for some reason we decided we needed to return to Babcary to swell the numbers at that excellent race. Last time we did it was in 2004 and we were training for a marathon that year too, so then we ran the course a second time after the race (which Lin won), but the major drawback was that by the time we got back over an hour had passed, and we had missed the prize presentation and more importantly, the cakes. Previous experience has shown that the average time for other greedy runners to polish off the best cakes after a race is 30 minutes, so that even if we ran at full race pace afterwards we would still have to do no more than 4 miles, meaning at least 4.5 miles to be run beforehand. That is what we planned to do, and so we started 75 minutes before the race, running up the first hill out of Babcary. After a couple of miles we were both feeling strong, so we decided we might as well do the entire course, and only have 2 miles to do after the race itself to complete the 17 miles.

After 4 miles and a couple more hills, we were both feeling the miles in our legs, and rather wishing we had turned back at 2.5 miles, but by then we had passed the point of no-return, so we pressed on. By the time we finished, we were well warmed up, but more tired than we had planned. Hopefully, there would still be enough in the tank to do the race justice. We chatted with Dave Carnell, Richard Westgate, and Clive Harwood while waiting for the race to start. By now, the fog was starting to burn off, and it was warming up nicely.

The race got under way and we were off again up the hill, about a minute a mile faster than the first time. I was still feeling pretty good by the time we reached the 2 mile mark, in just over 12 minutes, on the heels of a V50 rival, Nick S. At the time I thought he was in first place for the V50 category, but it turned out that there were another 2 even faster old geezers ahead of us, so I needn't have felt so bad as Nick slowly pulled away with my legs feeling heavier as each mile passed.

By the time I reached the final hill back down into Babcary, I was well behind Nick, and another guy, but still ahead of my main goal which was to beat my previous course best. I sprinted for the finish line to get in just under 47 minutes in 7th place, very happy with the result. Clive just pipped me into 4th place in the age-graded results, but we were both well behind the winner John Shapland who, at 58, finished 3rd overall with an age-graded 89% - in another league.

Anyway, back to the race, Lin finished a couple of minutes after I did, slightly disappointed not to beat her previous best, but still a very good result, first lady, and she ran at a faster pace than her last 10k race, despite the extra warmup lap.

Dave C finished in a further minute or so, closely followed by Richard, but by then we were off back up the hill for a mile out and back. We were changed and in the cake-line in time to grab a slice of excellent cake and some coffee which we took outside to enjoy whilst we basked in the unseasonably warm sun, chatting with friends and waiting for the presentation. We enjoyed it so much that I think we'll probably be back next year, unless we decide to return to the Dalwood 3 Hills 10 miler - too many races, not enough time!