Gawsworth is the Summer Series in a nutshell: everyone busting a gut in the sunshine, chasing each other across varied terrain in an eccentric little race. It is all great fun but you know that it will result in practically no change to the league table.
The first test of endurance is usually Sir Nick’s speech but this year it was mercifully short and we were soon sprinting off down the drive. There was no Mike H, Damian or Tarus Elli to lead us and the front of the race was shaping to be tighter than usual. But with remnants of a mid-week cold and the soaring form of Tom, Graham and Malcolm I was going to have to work hard for points. I thought that if I could just stay at the front with Andy Lamont for long enough I would be safe from my team mates. However at 2km I was already 30m adrift and as we approached the canal at 4km I was back in 3rd with Tom breathing noisily down my neck.
“C’mon faster” hissed Tom as we started down the towpath, “Malcolm’s catching us”. I wasn’t falling for that old chestnut so I eventually waved Tom past to see him run a bit faster rather than drafting along behind me. Much to my pain he did run faster and as we were hopping off the railway bridge sure enough there was Malcolm leaping up the other side. The three of us chased through the woods with Tom gaining some further advantage under the trees and over the stiles. We were soon weaving through the fun runners in the fields and by the time we hit the road again Tom had a 50m lead. I still thought that I’d catch him on the road but he’s just too fast these days and by the time we turned onto the field I was still out of striking range.
Up the final field I became more concerned about the long shadow of Malcolm that was surely creeping up towards me. Bounding down towards the 10k marker I could still see the leaders but Tom was lost in the midst of a swarm of fun runners. I dodged through them into the finish area. Finally safe from Malcolm but suddenly Tom was there only a few yards ahead. I sprinted for the line but never fast enough to catch him.
I really needed another 400m but that would have made it 11km.
Rob Downs