the Over The Hills 7 and a bit miles multi-terrain race . . not over the hill just yet . .

3 November . .

What a fab way to spend a morning. Yes, some of us were a little dismayed to realise it was 10am start (we've got to set off when?) but it was certainly well worth the effort. I loved the flat bits, and the downhills too (this is progress, recently I've only enjoyed running downhill!). The start and finish were beside the old Tithe Barn in Bradford-on-Avon, and we set off along the Kennett and Avon Canal towpath to the aqueduct at Avoncliff. Here we left the canal and struck out across fields, before climbing up the first of the eponymous hills.

 

 Debbie and I head for the hills . . photo (c) Karen Carter . .

Once we left the canal there was mud everywhere, all slippery and slidery. I think there were three major hills for us to climb . . and then, inevitably, drop back down again. We knew that there was a "river crossing" at some point in the race, and we'd been warned that the river was high.

There came a time when the peace and tranquility were suddenly broken by screams and laughter . . nervous laughter, and I guessed that the River Frome wasn't far away. Sure enough, we went down another slopery bit and there was Iford Manor ahead of me, with a bridge crossing the river in front of it, and a marshal telling me to turn left (away from the bridge) and be careful . .

  the ford across the River Frome had been quite busy earlier in the morning . .

photo (c) Karen Carter . .

Oh boy . . what a lot of water! I saw the steps out of the river over on the opposite bank and started to head directly towards them, only to be yelled at by a marshal in the river (who I hadn't seen), and instructed to go towards him and grab the rope overhead and make my way over to the two other marshals who were up to their chests in water close to the other bank.

 

 

and was a little less frenetic by the time I arrived . .

photo (c) Karen Carter . .

 

The first guy told me to look out for a step . . splash . . too late, I'd found it . . and the water came up above my waist and took my breath right away. Like having a panic attack, I started shallow breathing. Fortunately there were no other runners around, so I didn't need to worry about anybody else, and I was able to keep it under control until I'd crossed the river and emerged onto dry land. This was immediately followed by a long uphill stretch which I walked up, and gradually got my breathing back under control. The marshals in the river were essential. I imagine that by the time I arrived they'd been in the water for at least 30 minutes but they were still good humoured and conscientious. Wonder if they've dried out yet?

Afterwards we all laughed and joked about the river crossing. When I was in there I remember wondering how Marie and Vanessa had coped, given their lack of height, and indeed it turned out that Vanessa now has two new friends, being the marshals who gave her a helping hand or two as she forded the stream!

But not only was this race memorable for the water crossing. There was (as there usually is at these events) the friendliness and encouragement from all the marshals. There was the sunlight shining through the leaves on the trees, throwing shadows in front of us, and of course the leaves were such a glorious variety of colour. There was the smell of wood smoke from some of the barges moored beside the canal, and towards the end there was the driving rain bouncing off my spectacles! There was the first 4k, shared with Debbie, that went by so quickly we hardly noticed. There was the sign telling me there was 400 metres to go, and shortly after that there was the finish, and the noise made by Vanessa, Debbie and Paul as they waited patiently for me to cross the line. Thanks guys, you were great.

 

By the time I'd washed most of the mud off I'd missed some of the prize giving, but I was pleased to get there in time to see Andy receive his award for finishing 1st V40, what a great run that was! Tracy ran a great race too, just missing 1st place in her category by a few seconds. In fact everyone ran really well, and certainly all who I spoke with afterwards had really enjoyed their morning's splashy fun!

As for me, well 7+ miles or 11.5k is the furthest distance I've covered for almost 4 years, since I ran in a 10 miler on November 1st 2009, so I'm thrilled to bits about that. And although I was last man home once again, there were 6 ladies behind me, three of whom had overtaken me on the hill up away from the ford, but who I'd managed to get back in front of in the last couple of k. That's better!

11.5k closer to Copenhagen!

Edit . . and having had my serious run head on . . thanks to Paul and Vanessa for the reminder . . How could I possibly write about this race and not mention all the laughter, all the fun that together with Debbie we had on the way to and from the race. One of the funniest days I've enjoyed in a long time, thank you . .

Over The Hills (officially 12k)
winning time 44.17
6 48.28 Andy 1st MV40 
80 58.06 Alan 
82 58.13 Marie  
117 61.47 Tracy  
183 69.44 Maggie  
228 76.31 Paul 
252 81.14 Sheila  
261 82.12 Sue  
275 85.10 Vanessa  
290 89.52 Debbie 

291 93.12 Me
297 finishers