A difficult few months of running (or not running) was blown away on a lovely autumn morning not far from where I grew up.After spending most of 2016 targeting a PB and a long awaited sub-40:00 at the Wigan 10k, imagine my horror when after a blistering start and feeling like I might trouble the World Record Moderators (despite the fact that there were approximately 200 runners ahead of me), I pulled up 2 miles in with a recurrence of a calf injury that has plagued me all year.
That last sentence is almost Dickensian in its complexity and skilful management of numerous sub-ordinate clauses.
Anyway. Running.
So the Striders 5 mile trail race was my first race back. I'd forced myself into a month off running after the Wigan 10k disaster, notwithstanding a great morning running ever so gently from Newcastle to South Shields the following week.
I got down to The Ship Inn, the heavily patrolled border between the sweet pastures of Haydock and the lawless badlands of Blackbrook, pretty early to secure my race number and give me plenty of time to warm up. Everywhere I turned at this point seemed to bring me face to face with the green and red (orange) vest of a Kirkby Miler. The gang from a few miles up the East Lancs had invaded in force. Impressive turnout.
The start line was alongside the Sankey Canal and the usual spectrum from hardcore clubmen (and women) to those out to enjoy a leisurely off road Sunday morning social run mixed freely. As an aside, I always find this the most curiously impressive thing about running enthusiasts. In other sports I've taken part in there has always been a certain elitism, even amongst amateurs. The camaraderie is a joy to behold, even if I don't usually take part as I'm an avowed loner and inveterately antisocial. I and around 200 others toed the line.
The race itself was fantastic. The course was a challenging mixture of towpath, woodland paths and farmers fields. Worryingly, I am absolutely convinced that I heard gunshots as we crossed one section along a narrow trail through long grass. On reaching the finish, I did not hear any reports of athlete deaths so I presume I must have been mistaken.
St.Helens Striders, the organisers of the race, had what seemed like hundreds of marshalls on the course, directing and cajolling runners with tremendous enthusiasm and all with a smile on their faces. I'll be honest and say that there can't be a better looking running club in all of Great Britain! That's the women by the way. I'm not the person to judge the men. If any women want to comment below (on the aesthetic merits of the male
I managed to keep a steady pace at around 6:40 a mile but wasn't sure where I was placing as I managed to get left behind at the start and struggled to overtake on the narrow paths that made up the first mile or so. As the paths widened through a woodland section, I steadily made my way through the field, focusing on one runner at a time until around half way I settled in behind a small group of Kirkby Milers. I was feeling strong but from mile 3-4 wanted to save something for a last mile push. At around the 4 mile point I passed the renowneded 'Powerman' for a second time and made my burst for glory.
I attempted to chase down a fellow unnatached runner who was about 100m in front of me at the last mile marker. I lengthened the stride, pumped the arms and ignored the bursting heart and burning lungs. I saw him coming closer. I felt him panic as my pounding footsteps drew nearer. And then at last, with about 200m to run, I drew alongside him. I was going to win! (I wasn't, I was in 14th place but one can always pretend).
And then he sped up a bit. And I was knackered. He drew away and my chance was gone. I trundled in towards the finish and managed a final effort to make it look good as I crossed the line.
In the end I made a 14th Place finish in 34:11 which I was more than happy with. The winner finished in a mental 29:27:00. Big congratulations to him and his two clubmates from St. Helens Sutton A.C. who chased him home to make a club 1-2-3.
An absolutely fantastic event all round. Great course, great marshalls, great sausage butty in the pub afterwards. Hopefully this will be a fixture in the calendar for many years to come.
*Photos shamelessy stolen from various sources.
