Claremont @ Weetslade, 26th June 2024
The popularity of the event this year meant that only 2 of the 120 places were available for Claremont teams. So just 6 lucky Sky Blues got to run up that hill! 3 of the 6 were Weetslade debutants, 2 of whom were new members representing the club for the very first time. Here is what one of them, Harry Mawdsley, made of it:
“This was my first outing for the Sky Blues and my first time at Weetslade, and what a great evening it was. I came straight from work, so there was little time to soak in the pre-race atmosphere. I arrived just after the group A runners had set off. Thankfully I’d been put in the final leg, so I had a whole 30 minutes to spare.
I quickly changed into my gear and jogged to the starting pen. There were a lot more runners than I expected, and I was really impressed by the organisation. I said hello to my teammate, Russ, and watched with disbelief as the frontrunners finished their legs. There were some seriously quick runners here.
Soon it was my turn. With a surge of adrenaline, I set off around the playing fields. This is easy, I thought, and before I knew it, I’d already finished the first kilometre. Obviously, I’d gone off far too quickly, and was in for a reality check when we turned into Weetslade itself. The second K has a fairly steep climb, which I’d completely forgotten about until I saw the hill looming up in front of me. I refuse to believe it was that big when we recced the route a few weeks’ ago! I gritted my teeth and pushed on to the top, helped by some friendly cheers from Claremont marshals. I tried to kick on during the downhill but already I could feel myself wilting under the baking (okay, quite warm) sun.
The third kilometre was pretty painful. By the fourth, I was cursing myself for agreeing to run and thinking about how nice it would be to stop and lie down—so, you know, those standard thoughts you get during a race. After what seemed like a lifetime, I finally turned back into Lockey Park for the final straight. I managed to find a bit of pace but was still overtaken by three other runners, costing our team a top-20 finish. Sorry guys! Anyone who wants to see how not to run a race should check out my splits. I finished with a time of 16.01. I had hoped to duck below 16, but it wasn’t to be.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. A great, if challenging course (at least, for a naïve first timer such as myself) and magnificently organised and marshalled. Thanks to all those involved! I’ll be back next year.”
Position | Runners | Time |
22 | Sarah Kerr Russ Brown Harry Mawdsley Team Time | 17:18 17:12 16:01 50:31 |
34 | Sonam Wangdi Roberto Marzo Sonja Fenske Team Time | 16:36 16:34 19:39 52:49 |
Full results and more photos can be found in this post.