In July one of our newer members, Gavin Smith, took part in 5 races over a period of 4 days. If runners are described to have caught the bug then Gavin has surely found himself at the centre of a full-blown epidemic! He writes:
“In December, I joined Skipton AC as I had enjoyed a few fell races the year before and wanted to try and maintain some level of fitness through the winter. This led me to my epic July weekend of racing;
Thursday 16th July – Eshton Moor fell race (5 miles, 400ft climbing). A great local race in Gargrave for me and my first top 10 finish. This route was more cross country than fell, but still a little tricky under foot in the ‘cow fields’ and, of course, through the legendary nettle and thistle field – no path, waist high stingers!! Next came Friday evening, 17th July and the Washburn Relays (3 miles) – This is something I’ve really enjoyed with the club, There’s such a great team atmosphere at these well attended events, not to mention the awesome picnic that followed. Calories well replenished! This was a nice little route, with 3 parts to it. Feeling the previous evening’s exertions, I thought the best way to get over these was a sprint start at average 5:20 min/mile. I quickly found this is not the way to get over the previous evening’s running, but still enjoyed the event and hopefully the rest of the team thought I did ok too!
Gavin at Cracoe 2015 (c) woodentops.org.uk
On Saturday, I needed a warm up for my afternoon race and thought a nice gentle parkrun (3.1 miles/5k) would do the trick. As those that know me will testify, I don’t really do nice and gentle, or taking it easy and was just a few seconds off my PB – maybe stringing a few races together in short succession is the way forward!
In the afternoon, I decided to take on my first mountain race. My legs weren’t quite convinced, but got into the mood a couple of miles up the impressive climb of the Ingleborough Mountain race (6.8 miles, 900ft climb) – my first mountain race. Legs were surprisingly strong until a slight stumble 3 miles up the hill and they suddenly remembered what they’d already done in the past few days. Great scenery and a brilliant field and race. My legs seemed to shake uncontrollably for quite some time when I finished.
Finally, Cracoe fell race (2.6, 900ft climbing) came on Sunday afternoon – short and sweet end to a great few days. I used more of my upper body to drag my tired legs up this ascent, but still enjoyed throwing myself over the two walls on the way back down which gained me a couple of places! This wouldn’t have been possible without the support, training and competitions that I’ve done with Skipton AC and its members. So a big thank you to everyone there. The question now is ‘what’s next?’!”
Gav’s week in stats: