This is supposed to be a fast course. Given that three Squirrels attended and came away with a PB each, you might agree. Of course, it’s the hard work in training that does the trick! It may be a bit of a trek up to this part of Northamptonshire (about 50 miles for me), but thanks to the hard work of Silson Joggers, you are rewarded by
* 2x laps of the gently undulating F1 circuit
* ample car parking near to the start
* ample toilets
* changing facilities in the pits
* lining up on the F1 grid to start the race
* good organisation
* gun>finish chip-timing
* generous prize-giving (e.g. top 3 in most age-cats, incl M40 and M45)
There was a strong field too, with 17 runners coming in under 35m
The only down-point was the wind, esp in "Hangar Straight". It had been quite a breezy day in north Herts, but the Silverstone circuit is pretty exposed, so any wind is magnified. Apparently, wind is often a feature of this race. I can well believe it.
I managed to just about keep pace with James Atkins for the first 5k lap, but the windy section really took it out of me (but less out of James!) second time around. James has been looking in great form the last few weeks, and he thoroughly deserved his excellent PB of 35:44. Congratulations to Linda Aird too on her first ever sub-50m 10k.
I thought there was an outside chance of approaching the MV45 Club Record (the mighty Sir Dave Frampton's 35:53). My time (and a PB by 60s) was 36:10. 29th/805 runners and 2nd MV45. I felt I ran a well-paced race, so was pleased to get close to what is, in my opinion, one of the toughest Club Records on the books.
No comments:
Post a Comment