Langley Fete Fell Race
Going to Langley proved very much the right decision. I was in the car just after the kick-off and home for the second German goal. England were bad, the referee worse . The sport's Luddite attitude to technology, despite the line taken by the media, did change the momentum of the match. Hopefully the TV, now they don't need to sell England to a wider audience, can help us to enjoy some good football.
I'm not hill climber, Langley had concerned me in prospect but, my conclusion was that, it is a course that very much favours those who are good at running downhill over those who are good at running uphill. I'd be interested in the views of those of you who are fell runners. The short, sharp ascent meant that , at my level, even the better climbers were forced to walk, so I could conserve my energy and wait for the flat and descent. I was able to catch Janine and John on the top and Penny on the cobbles. I believe it would have been a very different race run in the opposite direction when the good climbers, like Penny, would have been able to exploit a long, gentler ascent.
It was hot at 25o, but I did not notice this once we were out of the valley. I was early and when I registered they only had two other runners, Roy and Martin. As I said I don't 'do' hills but, if we're going to have a hill race, then that is the sort of field that I like. We then had a whole bevy of Wilmslow ladies sporting their crop tops. There clearly had been a joint 'itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny…' confidence building session. This was definitely better than the football although I'm sure Soraya had ordered an extra large number; it seemed to cover most of the area from her throat to her (long) shorts. Things then started to turn a bit sour as Malcolm, Tom, Rob, Andy, Don, Richard and Steve appeared.
Not many outsiders at the start, just Wilmslow and a few guests, it seemed.
My exit was faster than my ascent so don't know who did well and who was disappointed but a smaller field makes commenting on the impact on the Series less wieldly.
Malcolm (1st.M40) finished second as he had done last year. He became only the third Series main-table winner, Graham having taken the 60 points at Sandstone but Damian the other eight. Tom (1st.M50) was 3rd. , Steve 5th.,Tony (1st.M60) 6th., Rob 7th. Andy 8th. and Don 9th. Nick gave his calf a non-too-gentle work-out.
Penny Hinke and, for the first time, Chris Cannon, go onto the T-shirt and mug.
Damian's leadership of the main table was unaffected and only the mathematicians would question whether he is going to be 2010 champion. Tony, Richard, Don, Clare and Kate strengthened their hold on the next five places. Sarah and Christine were in Bloemfontein so Ian closed the gap a little. Owen is now followed by Penny and Chris who have jumped onto the leader-board . Roy has moved above Rod and Julie and then it's Monique and Martin.
For some reason whilst male numbers were well down, we had a big turn-out from the ladies. Louise was second lady overall. Clare was second Wilmslow lady, Kate third, Penny (1st.L50), Huma (a much better run than Warrington), Janine (far less happy than she had been on the road), Soraya (perhaps better off-road?), Nina, Sarah and Elspeth.
Clare increases her lead at the top. Kate moves ahead of Sarah, Christine retains fourth. Penny is now on the leader-board pushing Julie and Monique down a place. Louise has five races, five wins.
Tony enjoyed his second Group 3/4 victory of the week , Andy was second, Don third then Gareth, Louise, Chris, Richard, Clare, Kate, Ian and Janine.
His fourth win of the Series confirmed Tony's position at the top of 3/4. Richard and Don strengthened their positions in second and third. Clare moves up to 4th. and Kate joins Christine in 5th. Sarah has lost a little ground, Ian completes those who have run seven.
John had chalked-up his fourth 5/6 Series win on Thursday, Penny made it four at Langley pushing John to his first defeat of the season. Huma was third, then Chris (also a much stronger performance than Thursday), Roy, Soraya, Nina, Trevor and Sarah (both back on the terrain they prefer), Elspeth and Martin.
Owen retained his leadership, but only just and perhaps not for long, he's one point ahead of Penny. Chris jumps in at third, only three points behind Penny. Rod drops to fourth with Roy closing on him, then come Julie, Monique and Martin. John has four firsts and a second.
Bollington next, Sunday July 11th. Group One train there and even Rob Downs says the first two hills are tougher than they look. This is a race that definitely does favour the hill-climber; last year I lost too much ground on the early hills (there's also a sting in the tail) and was beaten by Amanda, Penny, John and Angela.
Ian
You should wait & see what we have planned to wear for the next race 🙂
Does the race favour those good at uphill or downhill? – It’s interesting how perceptions vary as I would have said the opposite! The downhill, apart from an uneven start to the descent, was all on a well used wide firm footpath. OK you had to be a little careful as it certainly wasn’t a smooth surface but I felt it was very runnable for those that aren’t fell running specialists. My impression was that overall it was very much a ‘road runners’ fell race; A nice smooth grassy start, tarmac up to and across the dam, a steep but relatively short climb, long fairly flat section along the top on a very good running surface until you reached the descent and a good firm track to run along to the finish