Race report by Dave Phillips
Well this inaugural 10 miler was probably (no definitely) one of the hardest road events I’ve done. Way back I did a half here in 1.30 but it was on the other side of Rugeley not up and over Cannock Chace and Cannock Forest.
So what a great start to see 3 of us from Masseys there with Cathy Keay and Natalie Deven joining in with me as we strolled to the start from the school HQ on closed roads.
But then the stroll was over. They say that if you run from point A on a circuit back to point A then the ups equal the downs. Rubbish. All 3 of us proved today that there must be a Geological Fault in this neck of the woods! It’s 8 up and 2 downish.
After 1 mile we were suffering then up to mile 8 miles it seemed to be just all uphill, huge long drags, the occasional vertical downhill and then back up again.
The good news was that it was a beautiful country lane course with wonderful scenery, small villages, no traffic to bother about and wonderfully marshalled by Rugeley Runners so well done you lot.
At the 3 mile spot there was a rare downward slope and in there a front garden was a very old grey Massey Harris (pre-dates the Ferguson) tractor with engine full on and purring away beautifully (unlike the Massey runner huffing and puffing his way past it). I shouted at the owner that I was from Massey Ferguson but it fell on deaf ears.
So we plodded on ever upwards and at Cannock Chase on the very top at 8 miles you could see the horizon for 360 degrees with all the land below us. No more hills we thought. But what goes down vertically goes back up again and even the final 250 yards to the school finish were –yes you’ve guessed it-uphill.
Cathy and Natalie had great runs and were there to welcome me at the prize giving afterwards.
The goodie bag with beer, the huge cake, bacon and sausage stall at the end in the school made the day worthwhile-well almost.
But what a toughie. Guess we’ll be back next year however as will the 300 who turned out today. Must all be mad.
Massey times:
Cathy Keay – 1 hr 42 mins.
Natalie Deven – 1 hr 47 mins.
Dave Phillips – 2 hrs 6 mins.
At least Draycote Water 10k next week MUST be flat. Better be.