Six Massey members took part in this event.
It was a multi lap event based on your choice of distance. 10k was 3 laps. Half Marathon 6 laps. Full Marathon 12 laps.
It was described as a trail run within the grounds of Coombe Abbey. A perfect setting for a summer event.
Sheila and myself thought we would do the half as part of our build up to our autumn marathon.
It was a perfect setting for a summer race we thought as we arrived Sunday morning, but the weather had not lived up
to the hype! A cold wind and driving rain was our welcome. Weather you would expect at the Coombe 8 in November!
So Sheila and myself left the comfort of her car and tramped across a very soggy field to register. We came across David
Phillips who told us he had dropped down from the full to the half due to him being under the weather with a bad cold.
Dave had run the full in 2014 and knew how tough it was!
I asked Dave about the course he said “of course you go through the river you know” I was about to make a bolt back
to the car when he added “only joking”.
Start time arrived and the rain stopped and off we went. Well I don’t know about trails to me it was cross country nothing
more or less! Uneven ground ruts and much more, especially sheep dung plus about 300 sheep who started to bolt across
the field just after the start! As luck would have it they got used to us invading their space and by the third lap were not
batting an eyelid thank god!
I think having talked to people later they were expecting something not quiet so grassroots.
The Marathon was won by Steve Edwards in 3hrs 19mins. Steve has run 500 plus marathons, and comes from the same
mould as our own Dave Phillips.
We had two runners in the 10k
Jamie Turner 46.40 Half Marathon Marathon
Jodie Turner 57.04 Sheila Johnson 2hrs 16. 36 Jason Douglas 4hrs 32 55
Lesley Keighley 2hrs 20
Dave Phillips 2hrs 41 55
race report by Lesley Keighley