A nice cup of tea makes it stop hurting by onthefloor04

The weather was threatening all week but I had no doubt at all that Sunday was ging to be fine. It always is for the Hooky 6 race. Without fail the sun will pop out and beat down on any runner expecting anything less.

 Race wise I was pretty optimistic, I’ve had a few long runs recently and had even managed a 50 mile week in the run up. The week before I’d taken things nice and easy and felt set to run well again.
Team wise we had a good team although the Teaboy was out of action with a hamstring niggle (presumably a result of the 30+ races he’s run this year – admittedly a few of those were small scale track races but even so that’s a hell of a lot, I ran 33 races last year and topped the clubs total races run ranking and we’re only in August)
The rest of the team were good but we would be a little depleted at the sharp end without him and City were obviously looking to make up for the defeat at Hornton.

The race is two laps of a route around the village that starts at a high point at the new village sports and social club very swish with hot showers and Hooky beer on tap, although not I the showers that would be odd! After the first 400m you reach the lowest point of the course (which of course requires quite a sharp descent) and from thereon in you’re climbing pretty much all the way (with a few flats to break it up a touch). So get away quick and unleash the hurt on anyone trying to stay with you…if you can.

 The gun fired the elbows went up and we were away.
I wanted to try to stay vaguely near the quickies and see how it went from there. By the time we reached the bottom of the quick downhill I could feel the presence of runners behind me but the coast ahead was already starting to open up for me as the leaders started to pull away (they were welcome to it) and the others. It’s strange how quickly people can fall away on a downhill, at the top I was still surrounded by runners including the first lady (Sho-Cro of Bourton? – I distinctly remember thinking ‘blimey she’s going some, Classy is going to have her work cut out catching her’.

By the foot of the hill and just a quarter of a mile in the race was already set.

Turning out of the village I found myself with what I can only describe as an old bloke. I’ve seen him at various races but didn’t recognise his vest. I also knew that he was one of those blokes that had a lot of experience under his belt and also a lot of fitness, which he proved as he started to move away from me as we approached the 1^st mile marker. (Turns out it was Tim Huge, a name I recognised but a face I didn’t – presumably as he was always in front of me. A novel experience when you see someone running that is normally ahead of you, I discovered it at the mile race earlier in the month when I saw Fernando, for example, run for the first time, usually he’s too far ahead to watch it…interesting it was)

Up ahead of me I could see Martinin and City’s Aarbo. Knowing that further on we only had the Skip I could only hope that Martinin might be able to move ahead of Aarbo, as City also had leMale and Dbell both of whom I expected to take some of the top three places. By now I was too far back to close points so I had to concentrate on not losing places and hoping that City’s final counter would be a way back.

2-miles and nothing had changed, still climbing  and preparing to do it all again. Back into Hook Norton and passing the 3-mile point I felt pretty good, although also aware of GazHaz closing on me.

 As we approached the four mile marker Gaz made his move and overtook me. This time last year the roles were reversed and until a stitch waylaid me I was set for a very good finish. I went with him briefly but the sudden change of pace was too much for me. I let him go and hoped that Martinin would be able to catch Aarbo and save us the point I’d just dropped.

The penultimate climb and slowly Gaz had overtaken Poobody who had been lacking from recent races but was obviously back in form, and Poo was in turn coming slowly back to me but with little over a mile remaining I couldn’t imagine him being catchable.

Finally turning off the course proper and back to the clubhouse with just 400m remaining I was still closing. Poo was easing off or tiring, not sure which but it was a matter of metres as to whether I could catch him or not.

 200m and the lead was less than 30m…100m remaining and the finish line was looming , just a few hundred metres too soon. I knew he was safe now and I eased off slightly myself over the last 50m. Another half mile (or even a quarter) and I’d have caught him, but it wasn’t to be. Finally I crossed the line 16^th in 35:07 (just a few seconds slower than last year although that did include a break to clear a stitch). Can’t really complain. Not an earthshaking time or performance but on a par fitness wise with that of Hornton I suppose.
DC brought us home in 18^th place but sadly City’s 4^th runner came in just on his tail which meant that we missed out on the win, only scrabbling a second on the day. We missed the Teaboy that was for sure. Had he run and won we’d have taken a win, a close win admittedly but a win nonetheless.

By my reckoning Woodstock and Coty are level again in the team competition and it looks like it’s going to go to the wire.
Next GP race is the Witney 10, which we’ve traditionally done well in but we’ll have to see who shows up for it.

In the meantime I’ll just hope this blasted rain bu*gers off so I can train this evening.