Dovedale Dash 2008 (Running)

Tuesday 04 November 2008 03:55PM

Last Sunday was the one token cross country race that I do each year. I first ran this race when I was seven or eight and my mum insisted that I start at the back of the 1500 strong field for the mad charge down the first hill to the river. This year I fought my way through to the front of the crowd before the start, before the obligatory false start; sprinters say go on the B of the Bang, in this race you just go whenever you see someone else has gone since the starter is always drowned out by the noise. After the initial sprint and bog jump, I found myself somewhere around 20th where Lindale narrows for the run down to the river dove. From there I eased my way through the field only to find myself first to the river. I’ve never been first to the river before, so I wondered what would happen next. I stuck with the leaders until the long flat section on the far side of the River Dove, where I slowly lost touch. I felt like I was running pretty well, considering how little running I’d done recently (I’d ran twice in the previous two weeks, and six weeks before that I’d not run at all for the summer), and stayed pretty steady around 6th/7th/8th. The final run back up Lindale to the finish was as tough as ever and I managed to catch one but got dropped by another, leaving me 7th overall.

It’s always exciting to have a reasonable performance off little training, it makes you wonder what you might be capable of with a little more structured preparation. Realistically I’ve not had a long period of good training since I was a teenager, always getting distracted by climbing, injuries or work. Now that I’m finding ways to fit my work, climbing and running ambitions together perhaps I’ll be able to lay a foundation for that better performances this winter. What’s important is that one day, even if it’s not this year, all this wondering what might be is converted into knowing.