THE WAGGON & HORSES (LANCASTER) 10M

Sunday 2nd August 2009

 

 

Do it again:                 Possibly…. Might do Sale 10 next year for a change.

Atmosphere:               5

Value for Money:        0 - £8 to enter on the day for nothing at finish except a medal.

Beginner Friendly:     8

Scenery:                      7

PB Potential:              Do Sale instead! (7)

Organisation:              8

Shoes:                         Road

Directions:                  FY5 3BF to LA1 1Rd – 25.1 miles – 45 minutes.

                                    A6 – turn left at Dameside St. 0.1 m – continue on St. Georges Quay 0.2 m – Destination on the left

                                    http://www.wagonandhorsespub.co.uk

                                    For on the way home, see also: http://www.thewaterwitch.co.uk (LA1 1SU)

                                    Nine different real ales.

 

Done this race quite a few times and trained quite a lot in the old days. The traffic through Lancaster was absolutely horrendous and I turned off at the Waterwitch and managed to get a parking space right outside registration. I always remember Lee Barlow grabbing a horse once during this race when it got spooked by all the runners.

 

Not many Wesham here today! I was the only V50!!! We only had two ladies, Sarah and Michaela. (If we had another lady, 4 minutes or less behind Michaela, we would have won the team prize!)

 

The race sets off from a disuses/run down factory then onto a cycle path for 4/4½ miles towards Condor Green. I was running with the usual suspects – Michaela, Mel, and Kath initially, then Terry Pritchard of Garstang. He left me for dead after a short while, finishing 13 places in front. Also kept changing places with Steve Pierce of Kendal and Terry Westhead of Blackpool. (Terry went to school with Michaela and posts on our Message Board.)

 

I started to flag a bit at ~Condor Green and 3-4 came past. The Wilkinsons were watching just before Condor Green and tried their best to spur me on.

 

We then hit the road….and a couple of mild hills.  I managed to get it back a bit at this point. (I’d run up Paddy’s Pole on Friday morning and also ran the Fire Brigade Relay.) My quads were a bit sore but, having run up Paddy’s Pole 48 hours previously; it helped me put these two molehills into perspective!

 

We then turned off the road, past the sewerage works and back onto the cycle path. One or two cyclists using the path but generally not a problem.

 

I wasn’t ‘eyeballs out’ – I was chatting to an unattached runner from Liverpool. The last bit seemed quite a drag. The course is really familiar and I set my sights on the Railway Bridge, as I know the finish is just beyond the bridge.

 

As I came under the bridge, Liz Airnes took my photo. (She has my camera and I predicted my time almost exactly 68:36.)

 

Written by: Martin Bates

Submitted: 3rd August 2009

Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Editor