Fluorescent Pride

Let’s get this bit out of the way – this morning’s run was Herbert’s Hole 10k. Everyone have a snigger, I certainly did! “She’s doing Herbert’s Hole tomorrow!”, laughed some members of the club last night at our Awards Dinner/Dance. Needless to say, I had had a bit of a late night on Saturday but luckily the race had a late 11am start, which I was most grateful for! This race is organised by Chiltern Harriers and was its 23rd year running. It is a multi-terrain event starting in Lowndes Park in Chesham, with a couple of twists and turns around the park before heading to the hills in the Chiltern countryside.

After a delightful lie-in until 9am and a 40 minute drive over to Chesham, I headed up to the race HQ at the guides hut on the park edge to collect my number before 10:30. Today’s number was a nice round one – 400! Pleased with this, I searched the hut in the warmth for some fellow Burnham Joggers and sought out Mark, the only person from the club I knew would be there. We sheltered in there until it was finally time to head out for a warm-up. I sacrificed my 2 layers of coats to my boyfriend, Chris, who took care of them whilst I was running.

Line-up at the start

I had a quick warm-up in the park with Mark, up and down a small slope and the start hill, followed by a stretch. We sheltered under the umbrella my boyfriend had taken out of the car to hide under  – it was still raining a bit at the start line, but it had stopped by the time we got going – until we were swallowed up into a crowd of mud-hungry runners. A quick announcement about the treacherous paths ahead and the klaxon had sounded. We pushed en-mass up the hill to the top of the park, around the top, before dropping off on a cambered zig-zag finishing in the woods. I spotted Chris along here, who was fighting with the umbrella I had loaned him that had turned itself inside out. I laughed and thought, “that will get me round some of this race!”. At first, when everyone had ground to a halt, my inner chimp had a little grumble, but I soon had to admire the dedication of the race organisers. They had not only appointed marshals to advise the safest route through the mud, but had spray-painted those nasty ankle-turning tree roots through the woodland a bright orange colour so you could spot them really easily. I think that this was going the extra mile to take care of all the runners.

Fleeing up the hill at the start

We emerged from the woodland and were faced with a mud-slide downhill, where those fantastic marshals were there guiding us the best possible way down without breaking our legs. I was amazed at how many people were wearing road shoes throughout the course, especially with all the rain there had been. It was so slippery! This followed onto a long stretch of road running, up a steep hill and back down again, trying not to slide about on the wet surface with my muddy fell shoes. A brief race hello to another Burnham Jogger and we were soon back where we needed to be – on the trails full of mud and puddles. Fitness-wise I felt fine, but my legs were so heavy and it was all I could do to keep moving. I am always the last to admit it, but this was, of course a sign that I may be in need of a bit of rest. (Dougie, if you are reading this, you were right!)

After another burst of tarmac, the route headed down through a gate onto the flat, where a small stream ran through the middle of the course, and we were greeted by a water station. I gratefully accepted a plastic cup of water, before continuing on along the trail. This gave me a second wind, which I was very happy about, as my legs had been screaming at me to stop for the last 4 miles. I had ignored them and pushed on, and now I felt like I was flying along! I felt like I could push harder and I knew that what had kept me going was not only my own pride but the pride of the club. Being able to say I am a part of Burnham Joggers and that I can finish this makes me very proud indeed and I compared us to a pride of lions in fluorescent yellow as I ran down the next slippery tarmac hill. Wearing the club top makes me feel proud every time I start a race and it is a great feeling to get a “well done Burnham” from the marshals. It can give you the boost you need.

Puddle dodgers were out in full force today, which cleared the way for me down the middle of the pathway, whilst they all ran awkwardly up the sides through thick mud, leaves and roots, trying to avoid all the low-hanging branches. You only get wet once! That’s my philosophy and I stuck to it, landing in the biggest puddles I could find – it’s cross country, after all! Why avoid the things that make it what it is? I was extremely pleased with all the mud splashing everywhere, all the way up to my thighs and my feet rythmically squelching through the trails. I started overtaking those that were sliding all over the mud in their road shoes with my new-found burst of energy to tackle the rest of the course.

A few kissing gates slowed us down with a bit of stop-start but I was determined to climb back up the mud-slide in what resembled a run. I pushed hard up it, realising I needed to aim for the sides where it was a bit less slippy and made it to the top in one piece. A final spurt sideways across the hill back into the park and then I could see it was downhill back to the start. “Sweet!”, I thought, as I was greeted by Mark cheering me on to the end and advising me to go for it, but just watch my footing. I flew down the hill, spotted Chris who cheered me along as I headed for the finish straight. Sprint time! I heard someone on the side shout, “he’s just behind you!”, and I found an extra bit of energy to maintain my position. Those track sessions had paid off! I was grateful for the cheers and advice from the runners who had already finished, and for the tip off that someone was on my tail!

Buzzing from the race, I joined the other finishers in grabbing some water and my coveted finishers’ t-shirt. All in all, I had a good second half of the race and was glad my legs had picked up a bit but I might take it easy over the next few days, ready to have another stab at the Staggered Jog next Sunday!

Muddy hooves!

Proud finisher with t shirt and number

Race bounty!

This was a great race put on by Chiltern Harriers. A special thank you for holding this event and to all the wonderful marshals as always, who dedicate their time to making sure we go the right way, ensuring our safety and cheering us along on cold, wet mornings. This is a race I am sure I will be visiting again.

Amanda x