Cheadle 4

I had been thinking of joining this event for a while, but couldn't make my mind up.  Then I saw Charlotte's post on facebook, asking someone to take her place due to her injury, so I asked and got the place.

It was a cool but dry morning when Kath and I arrived.  We had to come early because we had to collect our numbers from registration.  We met up with Sue and several of the Trotters who were also running and managed to have a little chat. Kath and I were a bit apprehensive as we had been told that, although the course was short, it was also quite tough and we should "save ourselves for the big hill at the end". We didn't really know what to expect so we both agreed to start at the end and take it easy so that we can complete without any injuries.

It wasn't long before we were called to go to the start and got on our way.  I had been a bit cool without my coat but soon got warmed up and grateful that Sue had insisted to take it off me. It was lovely to run through the town with lots of people cheering us on. It was flat and easy to start with but we stuck to our agreement and kept the pace steady.  

Soon we noticed it has started going up and every time we looked up, the course ahead was going up even further and after a bend . . .even further. . . and so on.  In total the climb was 279 feet and oh, boy, we knew it when we got on top.  Having said that, we were no longer last at the end as we had started to overtake some stragglers along the way.  I remember passing Anne and when I caught up Liz, I found out there were no more hills, so I decided to go for it.  I passed quite a few people on my way downhill.  I was going fast enough not to dare look behind to see if Kath was with me in case I stumbled and fell over.

The race went so quick that before I knew it we were back at the start again.  For some strange reason it seemed really hard to do the last few hundred metres.  I ran past some walkers and had to really restrain myself from joining them but it was worthwhile when I heard the cheers and clapping as I ran through the finish line and collected my beautiful medal.  Kath came in shortly after and we rewarded ourselves with a very tasty, sherbet covered, whippy ice-cream.

Then came the realisation that this was just the kind of run that suits me well.  Challenging enough to make it interesting but short enough to make it quick and easy.  We are hoping to use the route for a club run sometime.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable and very well organised event. I'm hoping that it was my first of many more over the years to come. :-)