I’ve been
a member of WAC for a year and in April 2007, having only ever run 10K,
Ian somehow roped me into the ladies Ridgeway team. To say I went into
it with my eyes closed is an understatement! This year I lacked such
excuses and still found myself signed up for the same legs that I have
spent the last 12 months cursing Ian for having made me run!
Of the
ladies, Cathy and I were the only ones returning from last year,
although Jools bravely entered the mixed team with about three days to
go before race day. We were running with Julie who has completed this
event before and three new faces; Nicki, Trudi and Becky.
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Becky at Ashmore
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We started
with Becky on leg 1 and she had a stormer of a run. She gave us a
fantastic head start and was the second lady in. Unsurprisingly I soon
lost any advantage once I hit Hambledon Hill! I handed the baton to
Cathy, having crawled up the mountain at the end of leg 2 and just about
avoided the electric fence - I would have collided with it if Denise
hadn’t been with me, but then I did save her from an army of cows so I
think we’re even! Cathy was running her first of three legs and had
been ill all week. We wouldn’t have completed if she hadn’t pulled it
out of the bag on the day, she was a real trooper even though she was
clearly not feeling her best (anyone who knows Cathy will be aware that
stopping to stroke a horse is not usual race behaviour!)
Cathy came
in to hand the baton to Trudi who is used to short distance sprints
before launching herself through the air on the end of a pole-vault
stick. She wasn’t sure how she would do over a longer distance and she
was awesome! When she flew in at the end of leg four under 40 minutes
Cathy was barely ready to head off again having just got over leg
three. We also had other problems as Nicki was responsible for Trudi’s
car; I believe her exact words were, ‘Ian, help, I think the accelerator
cable has snapped!’
However,
with Cathy safely on her way we headed to Nicki’s first change over. We
were having a very different day to last year as we were actually
meeting other teams along the way! Cathy was now struggling with
sickness and headaches but came speeding in to send Nicki off to
complete the first half of the race. Time was flying! As we reached the
end of leg 6 we also got word that the Wimborne B men’s team was beating
the A team and it was neck and neck between the two as they tackled leg
8. Nicki came in with a fantastic time of 50 minutes and Becky began
her final leg. It was another really good run and she handed the baton
to me before heading home for the day. I set off on leg 8 and as much as
I hate the hills in leg 2, leg 8 is a really lovely run. For the first
time ever I ran a race without being overtaken, although this was the
Ridgeway and everyone had already overtaken me on leg 2 so I am not sure
it really counts!
As I
finished for the day I handed over to Julie. She had volunteered to run
leg 9 at the last minute as the ladies team had a few runners drop out.
She came flying down the hill with one of our strongest finishes of the
day despite running with broken fingers! She handed over to Trudi who
had another lightning run and had been talking all day about how she
wants to do it next year. She has definitely caught the bug and will be
of the few that Ian doesn’t have to drag kicking and screaming to the
start line next year! Cathy then completed her final leg of the day and
despite a minor detour over a barbed wire fence, looked really good as
she climbed the final hill. While the rest of us were waiting we also
got the chance to cheer Andy into his final leg. He looked tired but was
doing really well with only leg 12 to conquer, although he wasn’t
convinced when I told him he was nearly there! He headed off with Pat
to complete his incredible run and left me to drive his very large van.
I think Ian was more concerned about that than he had ever been about me
completing leg 2!
Nicki set
off on her final leg and the last one of the race. By now we had also
heard that the Wimborne A team had come in ahead of the B team and
between them they had secured both 1st and 2nd
places, awesome news for WAC. Apparently it was Ian’s dream come true
and even Jerry couldn’t help performing a victory dance as John came in
for the B team to secure 2nd place! Nicki had been worrying
all day about a particular field full of cows and a bull on leg 12, even
more worrying when you run in red! We phoned the men to find out if the
animals were still there and the response did not put Nicki at ease! As
all the ladies gathered to cheer Nicki in, she finished looking really
strong with a big smile for the camera so clearly the cows had left her
alone! We also cheered Innis and Andy as they completed their incredible
100K runs. Cathy presented the WAC runners with her own custom made
Ridgeway medals and Annmarie completed a brave and determined finish
having run on a dodgy calf for her final leg. As the race finished our
attention was drawn to food and beer and I was distracted by chocolate
cake with lashings of cream! Our team atmosphere was fantastic and
fuelled by the ever flowing chocolate treats in Julie’s hamper - there’s
a pattern emerging between chocolate and my motivation to run! I’m sure
I won’t be the only one dragged back for more next year. Although I am
taking this opportunity to put it in writing for the attention of a
certain Mr Ian Kennedy:
I WILL NOT RUN LEG 2 AGAIN!
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Trudi, Julie, Nicki, Cathy and Claire
at Uplyme |
Claire
Newby
