The Roaches Race …….. from the middle

Thursay 13^th June 2013

I think the scariest part about The Roaches is when you are driving to it.  From a few miles away it almost dominates the horizon and looms large. On seeing it Gail fell silent and jaw dropped, Alan
just simply asked “Do we start halfway up?”

It would seem not a race for the ladies. Gail, pre-race, was looking for a sweeper or anyone that felt unwell and then suggesting they ran with her. Janine wanted to be running anywhere else but here, Sharon unfortunately felt her injured knee was not quite right and sensibly decided not to run, Amanda couldn’t quite decide on how many tops to wear, and Alan just simply said “I run up hills badly, I’m worse going down”…………as I say……..not one for the ladies!

It was only 13 degrees and overcast with the threat of a storm or glorious sunshine in equal measure.  Remember last year?!!  Not again, please.

My ‘pre-race delusions’ (L Harrison, 2013) were, as always, present.  Yep, 60 points – no Louisa, Janine does not like this race, and no Di By.  Gavin is a concern though, and I also know Chris Cannon runs these races brilliantly, I fancied my chances over 6 miles.  But, Sally P can never be ruled out either.

We start on the road for about half a mile and up a gentle incline.  However, by the time we reach the sharp right turn to go off-road I feel tired. Janine has gone off fast, I have gone with her. I know as we start the climb up The Roaches she is going to pull away and she duly does. Although Janine doesn’t run down hills quite as bad as ‘Bambi on Ice Fenton’ (Ian Ashcroft, 2011), she does struggle, so I wasn’t overly concerned. 

It’s hard going, the climb is steep, the terrain is rocky, many  need to be climbed over, they are too big to run over, its more trying to step a few, run a few and avoid a few, but you are soon at the top of the initial accent and it levels off.

I have just managed to sneak past Janine as we start to run across the front of The Roaches, which still has some climb to be done, but the terrain is now not so steep, more awkward.  I know Janine will hate this jagged kind of running and as I have a look over my shoulder and “rubber neck” (C Cannon, 2013) I am not surprised to see Janine has fallen back. What I am surprised to see is no Gavin but Chris Cannon. Chris was running this hill very well, he soon caught and passed me, easily, he seemed to be running this race as if it was 4 miles not 6.

Around 20 yards in front as we began to approach the decent, Chris still looked strong and was gaining on Andy Watts, it was taking some real effort to keep with him, though fancied my chances on the downhill approaching.  I gained 10 yards on the decent and went past Andy Watts. Andy Watts, what was he doing back here? I soon found out as he left us for dead on the road, not to be seen again.

No sign of Chris ‘The Mountain Goat’ Grime. So it would seem his technique has been perfected. Tony was away in the distance, though I know both Chris and I still hold our Shining Tor Tony victory close to our hearts, we shall dine out on it many times yet.

As we get on the road I catch Chris on the initial climb and proceed to pass him.  This mile and half on road is fast but it’s not time to rest. Chris was not giving up on this, after half a mile I’d put 10 yards between us.

By the time we turn off the road and back across the fields I had got 25 yards ahead of Chris, Janine must have run a great piece of road, as I could see her around 150 yards back, a mile and a half left I felt confident that I had done enough.

Across the fields, tricky running all the way, only a narrow galley to land your feet on uneven shale and rocks, then onto the track for the final half mile.  Chris never gave up on catching me and pushed
me really hard for these 60 points, only around 25 seconds separating us at the finish.

Janine, on her most hated terrain, still ran a great race and collected 58 points. I am unsure who followed but not more than a few minutes seemed to separate Sally P, Nicky, Gavin and Alan.

Afterwards, Alan, though not his favourite terrain, said “I really enjoyed the race and glad I came”, which roughly translates to “I got round in one piece and it was good for points” – he’s a ‘Summer Series Tart’ (Ellis J, 2013), just like me!  Be loud, be proud, I say to Al.

60 points, ya know it – BOOM – though I have to say the run of the night from Group 3 was Chris’s, a well-deserved 59 – gotta be worth a BOOM, too.

Where next?  O yes…… Buxton Hilly, another mid-week race. It’s not for you, have a night off, get a takeaway, and watch telly ……… Otherwise, see you there.

Andy