Caroline Davis: What better way to spend a day off work but by running a 6-hour challenge on a Tuesday?
This event was held at Salcey Forest and is run by Big Bear Events. Weather-wise, the daycould have gone either way with the rain. The early forecast was for rain later on in the day, then changed to pretty much no rain, but on the day there was a light drizzle early on in the run but that cleared and then fine before I finished at 3pm. What did surprise me was the wind, which was particularly noticeable along a long incline (it’s not that steep, but gets harder every successive lap) at the mid-point.
The laps are 3.5 miles in length and it winds around Salcey Forest with the last section picking up the start of the lap where you can see outgoing runners. Underfoot is hardpathway, so I quickly changed into road trainers to provide a bit more cushioning. I also spent 6 hours faffing with my ear buds – definitely need to re-think that part of my kit.
It seemed hard going from the off, with a short respite in the middle where I gained some momentum then dropped off again towards the end. Even getting to the marathon distance seemed to be a trudge.
Still, I got a respectable time of 5:56:16, which consisted of 9 laps equating to 31.5 miles.
There was time for another lap, but it was time to give my aching body a rest and drive home to the speedwork session.
Now the results are through, I can see that putting in another lap would not have made anydifference to my standings.
I finished 7th overall and was the first female. No prizes for my finish – just a medal and a badge.