Friday, May 23rd.
Cheshire Grand Prix
Summer Series, Race 9
Once a Series regular, the logistics of getting there on time had proved in the past insufficient compensation for it being a flat, fast course. It's return, commanded by it being a Grand Prix race, combined the Friday evening rush-hour with the bank holiday traffic heading for North Wales. Every time Roy and I talked, we brought forward our start time by quarter of an hour, it was beginning to look like a hurried breakfast. In the end we settled for 4:45 and a plan B, should the M56 be impossible. We arrived at 6:05.
Well not quite arrived, it was half-a-mile to registration, half a mile back to the car, half-a-mile down to the school. Half-a-mile to the start. The race was going to be the easy bit. I don't think all this is going to score well on the Rob Downs time to get there/time running algorithm. It being bank holiday weekend the warmth and sunshine of Spring had given way to cold and rain.
This year's League 4 is the most competitive I have run in. One race I might be second (to Huma) the next I might be 10th., it is all down to performance on the day. My original plan was to try to stick with John but he found himself 44th. on the waiting list, I tried to suppress my glee at his misfortune. I turned my attention to Sharon, who had powered away on every one of Tuesday's pyramid runs.
The start was delayed, this enabled Andy, Louisa, Sharon, Gail, Huma and I to engage in a heated discussion as to whether the Summer Series should continue to be based purely upon your position in the race or whether, when they were available, your points should be determined by your chip time. This debate took place in the sub-20 minute pen, perhaps a mite optimistic for one or two of us. Andy suggested we should have a vote, which sounded dangerously democratic to me, but at that point we were distracted by the race starting.
Damian was our, and possibly the Grand Prix's, first runner home but his overall race position,13th., emphasises the class of the field. Peter was 18th., Rob Downs 45th. and 2nd M>50, Trevor 76th. and 3rd.M>50, Tom 95th. and 1st.M>55. Rob Wilson was 112th., Mike 116th. and Allan 120th.
Diane was 19th. lady, 2nd.L>35, Janine 2nd.L>45, followed by Louisa, Sally, Huma and Kate.
Jon, with a PB, headed League 2, Paul Garnett, back from injury, took the 59 points followed by Paul Norris, Steve and Andy, 2nd.M>60, Janine and Louisa.
Alan won League 3 from Andy, Sally, Kate, now coming back nicely from her knee op, Chris and, a hamstrung, Patrick.
Huma continued her dominance in League 4, Sharon did rather better than at Bollington with an emphatic PB, then Ian, a big PB for Gail, Clare and Bernard. Carolyn and Simon are out of sorts.
Happier on the road than the Bollington hills and fields, Sue took the League 5 60-points from, in-form, Catriona and a PB from Jan. Then Julie and Roy, who achieved his sub 26 target.
Simon was first in his age category and Ian second in his, but this reflected a dearth of aging talent rather than notable performances.
Excellent results service, on screen at the race and on the web by the time we got home (Wrexham, Buxworth please take note) but there did seem to be a glitch on Gail's chip time.
Finally it's interesting to compare the gun and the chip positions of the 'cheats' in the sub 20 pen. None, of course, achieved times under 20 minutes, yet their comparative positions suggest we 'cheated' no more, but no less, than the runners from other clubs.
Ian
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