I didn’t think Delamere was very hilly so it was fairly easy
to persuade me to enter this race. I became slightly worried when, the day
before the race, I was informed that Delamere was hilly – by now it was much
too late to do any hill training!
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| Lou, Heather, Tony, Mat and Steph |
The day dawned bright and sunny, perfect for a run. We arrived without a lot of time to spare and
I still had to change into my morris dancers outfit. I was giving the costume a
comfort test before the Meddoc Marathon. The ever crazy Matt agreed to wear
fancy dress too so that I wouldn’t too silly – he made a lovely Snow
White! Steph and Louise had also entered
in the spirit of things with dwarf hats and painted cheeks.
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| Heather with her bells jangling in the wind |
The race was well organised with plenty of parking, short
toilet queues and chip timing. The half
marathon, which Tony, Matt and I had entered started a little before the 10k
which Steph and Louise were running.
Having not done a half marathon for about a year I failed to pace myself
and ran off much too quickly – it’s so hard not to get carried away when the
adrenalin is flowing and people are clapping on the side lines. I paid the penalty for a quick start, of
course, when after a few miles I was struggling up hills and then a few miles
after that struggling on the flat too!
It was though a lovely course along a mixture of broad cinder tracks and
muddy paths winding through the trees.
Just when I thought the worst was probably over, since the finishing
line was drawing near, the route took us up Old Pale Hill, the highest point in
mid Cheshire. It was at this point I contemplated, as I do at some point in
most races, giving up running and taking up a less arduous hobby – like Morris
dancing.
Nevertheless, we all finished having enjoyed a hard run in
lovely countryside. A good run which I
would recommend to anyone who fancies a local trail run and is prepared for a
few hills.
For more information visit the website.
Heather