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| Lining up in height order: Bob, Tom, Cheryl and Gordon |
Tom mentioned the Arley Hall half and with considerable effort, I managed to get both Gordon and me into it (by the way, entries on the day were being taken although this wasn’t clear on the website!)
Thankfully, after a week of sweltering weather, Sunday dawned overcast with a bit of drizzle…thank you God!
On arrival at Arley Hall, it was unusual to see people actually hugging their fleeces and on the start line, goose-bumps were evident!!!
The organisation went smoothly and everyone was really friendly. Tom, Bob, Gordon and I loitered midfield chatting when the starting horn took us by surprise and we were off for the first Arley Hall half. Gordon soon disappeared into the distance (nothing new there then) but I did manage to keep tabs on Tom and Bob for a little longer.
The course took us on a rough figure of eight, anti-clockwise around the surrounding countryside. The course wound round and gently undulated along the whole distance and when not looking at the road in front, I managed to appreciate some of the countryside which was lovely. I liked it because there were no really long straights to get bored with.
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| Cheryl didn't actually run in this skirt - she'd had to wait so long for the others to finish she'd already got changed. |
Considering that non-of-us normally run summer races, we all did pretty well. Gordon came in in a blistering 1:36:09 (8th in V50), followed by Tom in 1:47:5. Bob sauntered in at 1:51:33 (3rd in V60) and I brought up the rear in 1:52:43 (3rd in L50).
We all agreed that it was a lovely, local course to run and would do it again. Apart from the initial problems getting a place, which they do need to make easier, everything else was tip-top.
What also made it a brilliant venue was the short walk away to Arley Hall and its restaurant! Great for a post-race Sunday roast finished off with apple pie and cream!
For more information visit the website.
Cheryl
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