Cartmel Trail Races

Saturday, March 17, 2012

10K and 18K

Dave Robson

We decided that this would be a day trip, out and back from Durham in a day. A two hour drive each way, pretty tiring, but I am very pleased we went. These are great events, they have a lovely atmosphere. This year there were three races, the 10K, then two 18K races on the same route, with the Challenge race starting 1 hour before the Trail race

This is the third time I have done Cartmel and today was by far the muddiest of the three. At times it was just totally the liquid variety which completely covers your shoes and ankles. The rest of the time it was the slippy variety which can be tricky when you are contouring.

Melanie and Dave Melanie did the 10K race so went out two hours before the Challenge start. When she came back in just over an hour and well inside the top third of the finishers, a great performance considering the treatment she has been through, I thought she must have fallen over in the mud. She hadn’t fallen, so I knew it was going to be one of those races.

I started the Challenge nice and gently. There seemed to be more hills this year, but I think I had just forgotten how hilly the route is. I made slow progress and the first 8K took an hour. The first water station really did have cans of Guinness for St Patrick’s Day (I thought they were joking at the announcements at the beginning).

The turn where lots of people went wrong last year was marshalled this year. My energy seemed to pick up at this point, maybe the kendal mint cake from the water station helped. I found the later downhill road sections great for increasing my speed. We turned into the really muddy section where the photographer was waiting for us. I enjoyed that muddy section !

Through the ford, which helped to wash off the mud, and then the long climb up into the woods and I still hadn’t been overtaken by the first runner from the Trail race. I managed to get home without being overtaken (last year I was overtaken about 2K from the finish). The samba band drummed everybody into the finish. As usual a sticky toffee pudding and a technical tee shirt at the finish and plenty of chat with clubmates and fetchies, listening to singer/songwriter Pete Lashley and the usual fun at the prizegiving.

The other Striders seemed to have a good day. Angela was catching me and would have finished ahead if the race had been a bit longer. Sue knocked off 20min off last year’s time even though the going was much tougher than last year. Maggie has done this for a few years now and was looking forward to it when I saw her at the start.

Cheesy Chips and mushy peas in Kirby Stephen rounded off a lovely day 🙂 The girl in the chip shop clearly though I was crazy by ordering such a combination…

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