I've see this race advertised for the last couple of years but have always managed to be busy or miss it. Friends have raced it and raved about it, so as soon as the dates were released I put it in my diary and started working on people to join my team. I could always fall back on Team Derby Runner if I needed to, but I wanted my stepson to race with me, so I approached my sister and squash buddy, who both said 'OK'. so that was a done deal, signed us all up and then told the stepson!
On the day, we parked a little further out to avoid all the parking chaos that would be in the official car park. we wondered down and my sister had already picked up the race pack, so we pinned our numbers on, chatted with mates and warmed up. The tactic chats had already started along with trying to psych out other teams with talk of how much training and how many complex carbohydrates we had consumed.
As the mustering on the start line began, I wondered over with the baton, as I was leading the team out in 'Leg 1'. I didn't fight my way to the front of the pack but just milled around near the back, mainly to avoid a sprint start, and to also have the boost of hopefully overtaking a few people once the sudden rush thins out. On the gun the 150 runners went out pretty quick, and I managed to start needling my way through the back runners, my obstacle racing tactics showed their worth when I spotted a hairpin turn ahead and a small bottle neck forming, so I sprinted to over take 20 people or so so that I would not get slowed by the bottleneck.
The hill soon slowed my pace and a few runners I had just ran past came past me again. I was now spotting a lot more Team Derby Runner Vests and focused on trying to catch up with them. This was a great tactic although very painful as I could see them a few people in front of me and on the longer straights a LOT further in front too. At the 1 mile mark I glanced at my watch and had done a 6m45s mile which I was happy with, and knew that it was flat all the way now.
Even though it was about a mile and a quarter to go, if felt like a long, hard drag. The pace was tough, but I had settled into a group of 2 other TDR runners and we were slowly moving up and picking off other runners as we got closer to the beautiful meadow, with the finish line about 500m off in the distance.
Now came the decision of when to drop the hammer, I don't think I could push for a 500m string finish, so I waited for the next tree, and dropped the hammer pulled away from the two other TDR members and started picking my way through a few other runners, after 100meters of 'hammer time' my legs were failing and lungs were burning so I brought it back down to 80%. I thought I would have to walk, I thought I would have to have a lie down, but then saw the final turn and the huge crowds of waiting runners and spectators, so notched it back up to 100% for the final sprint towards my sister and handed the baton over.
Now I could sit down and try and get more air in and CO2 out and then try and find some water. I was happily surprised how quickly I recovered, looks like training and running is definitely making me fitter and faster. after my leg I chatted with a few more TDR members, friends and family and generally had a very very pleasant time. The queue for the free beer was rightfully very long, so we decided to patronise The Abbey instead, only stopping to pass my beer tokens to one of the many amazing marshals that had volunteered their time.
http://www.hairyhelmetrelay.co.uk
In summary: A great race, for a great charity, incredible supportive marshals, free beer, stunning scenery, perfect organisation, a very inclusive race format, completely faultless.
Scores (out of 10)
Course: 9
Terrain: 6
Difficulty: 6
Return factor: 9
Overall: 8
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