John Porteous writes…

From a purely running perspective not a great start for me this year due to a calf injury and then a long holiday. As a result my first race was Shining Tor, where my main objective was survival. However I really love these midweek summer hill races – superb scenery, good running and a bit of banter with other WRC colleagues – a real stress buster!

We made a stop on the way to rendezvous with Julie near a part of the Bollington Nostalgia route. As we were early Andy D regaled us with a tale of saving a stranded sheep whilst out running with Soraya and someone else – could it have been Gail ? Unfortunately, like the sheep, Andy now seems to have gone to pastures new. In the race I had settled in to my usual slothful pace but at around 8k became aware of the dreaded sound of a faster runner catching me. If this is a Wilmslow runner I am in trouble I thought. It was a  Wilmslow runner it was Gail who looked as fresh as if she had just popped out from a behind nearby Tor and joined the race. Despite her encouragement I lost her on the downhill near the road but managed to finish ok.

Next up for me was the Boars Head. I had the pleasure of giving a lift to the Two Fast Ladies, (aka Di B and Louisa H). My main concern was that if it was a cold night they may have been in danger of suffering hypothermia by the time I rumbled over the line. Fortunately it was humid, with a nice breeze near Bowstones.  Embarrassingly I did manage to get slightly lost near Higher Poynton, so we arrived quite late. Just time for a quick registration and Di to put on her designer sunglasses and we were off. Another great midweek hill race which I really enjoyed. I used to have 20/20 vision but I now need specs – I think it is a disease called ageing. I wasn’t wearing specs but as I neared the final stretch I could see the blurred shape of two Wilmslow runners who appeared to be going slightly slower than me. I made a final push and with 100 meters to go I managed to overtake……… er Tom McGaff  and  one of his fellow speedsters completing their warm down! After my second glass of wine at home I convinced myself that I had come in ahead of Tom. (I think we may like to consider putting one or two races as standard into every Summer series – my vote would be Boars Head and Bollington 3 Peaks, but I will leave that to the grey beards to decide at the end of the season).

Bosley Fete – I say hello to Tom who for some reason seems supremely unconcerned that his customary MV60 1 position is under any threat.  Another race that I really like – a traditional Fete with the slight inconvenience of a 7.5k hill race but with cake and tea/beer to follow. I run the first half well, getting in front of Chris, Nicky and Huma.  Unfortunately on the very steep hill section where all of us except Group 1 have to walk, I lose ground. Chris walks past me which I rationalise by the fact that he is taller with a longer stride.  However when Huma walks past me I sort of run out of excuses.  I think we need a “Walking fast uphill”, training session in the Peak District with Nick at the top with his lactic acid monitor – how about it coach?

The next day is a very different race Hollins Green a 5k road race. The main theme was many of us moaning about the slow times as the new course was:

1.       More hilly than before

2.       Long

3.       We had a tough hill race the day before

I am sticking to excuse number 3 (thanks for the tip Di)

Colshaw Hall 10k. I know that some WRC members decided not to do this as it was quite expensive. This included Andy Dodd who was no doubt worried about the impact of Brexit on international car sales. Apart from a disappointing goody bag this was a really enjoyable race around the country lanes south of Knutsford. Just for the record I did beat the guy pushing a buggy so no news there for this year’s Christmas party!

I couldn’t do the Bollington Nostalgia one of my favourite races as i was due to attend a 60^th birthday do in the Lake District, so next up was  the Forest 5. Tony exhorted us to do the race so I made a real effort. It wasn’t until after the race that I realised that he wasn’t talking to me. Pre race had a moan with Geoff about the effects of getting older on race times and then we were off on the long uphill section. Pretty satisfied from a personal view and more importantly that we beat Macclesfield or did we ?

I did the Meerbrook 15k three years ago. I remember travelling with Allan Turner to the race, as we neared Meerbrook we agreed how hilly the terrain was only to turn the corner and see the dreaded ”Caution Runners” sign. After some debate about turning around, we decided to go ahead and claim the T shirt. I ran a really good 10k three years ago but unfortunately the race was 15k and I ran out of steam and delivered a time of 1 hour 19 minutes and 22 seconds. This year I decided to have a more conservative start. I arrived in good time and had a chat with fellow Group 3 athletes. We all agreed how sad it was that Tony and Gareth had to work and couldn’t compete. Some really good performances, which Ian has covered in his excellent report. I was hoping to get amongst the bulk of Group three but was slightly disappointed in being a couple of minutes off the pace. I consoled myself by noting that I had done exactly the same time as three years ago. Now if I can stay at this level for the next 20 years I may morph into a good runner…….