(… not to be confused with the Goring 10k in March)
2012 is going to be more about running than cycling for me so I thought I’d jump in at the deep end and race both a parkrun and a hilly 10k this first weekend. Saturday was my first run round the Oxford parkrun alternative poor weather course though I knew the layout from volunteering last week. So no muddy bit through the woodland but according to my Garmin a little bit over distance. I kept a steady pace and was happy with 24:20 for 3.18 miles 12th of 40 runners. Several of us had the unusual and slightly surreal experience of lapping Ed Mezzetti who has won at least twice before – he’d volunteered for tail-runner duties which raised a few smiles.
Sunday morning was to be a bit of a workout what with setting out at 8:15 on the fixie for the ride to the 10k start at Woodcote. I took the lansey route through Ewelme and Ipsden and got to see several Red Kites sitting about on the ground and on fence posts for a change. Maybe they just hadn’t got started with their day’s work of gliding about effortlessly impressing the tourists or maybe they just know the right place to be for a bit of fresh non-veggie breakfast. They are a scruffy lot when you get a closer look!
A few lumps on the way and an uphill bit of A4074 just before Woodcote meant I was already feeling a little knackered as I peeled off my outer layers ready for the start at the village green. I refueled on gel and water then ran a couple of laps round the field before joining the throng at the start where I was having a chat with Linda (veggie moving towards vegan) and Graham (not at all veggie) when the race started and the first few hundred metres evolved from a slow jog to a chaotic sorting out of positions as we left Woodcote and eventually settled into pace.
A mile or so, already descending, and we turned right into Elvendon Lane and continued the long downhill towards Goring. A few cyclists struggled up the other way but there were only a couple of motor vehicles and they patiently waited (having little choice). Down and down enforcing a fast pace but very aware that the hill at the end was going to be even longer that I remembered from last time I ran this in 2009.
About half way and we bottomed out and started to climb, I’d done my homework on the profile and knew this wasn’t really THE hill – just a bump on the way. I grabbed a cup from the water station and walked 3 paces while I downed it, too chilly a morning for a wetting. Soon loosing height again and a tiny lad outside a farm was offering high fives to any takers. In the bald Chiltern foothills we could see the crossroads ahead now where the race turned right and figures could be seen running up the long, steady climb back to Woodcote. Whether this is called Mile End Hill or Catsbrain Hill the OS map doesn’t make clear but the Hill bit felt about right.
The 2 mile gradual ascent slowed us all down, I accepted it and took it steady. A bunch passed me but 5 minutes later several of them had fallen back behind. A girl hopefully said, ‘the tops just round that bend’. I shook my head. A few walkers, one guy seesawing between stopping and retching then dashing on ahead. I’d vaguely hoped to scrape in under 50 minutes, my last run on this course being 52 something. But at last the top and the clock just ahead clicked over the 50 saving me a fruitless sprint. I found the effort to avoid getting passed and finished in something like 50:21, 149/408 (Friday after the race now and the results still ain’t up but never mind).
Hung around a few minutes to catch my breath and cheer the next few in. Linda finished shortly followed by Graham. I wandered back to my bike and downed a Trek bar to refuel for what felt a long and tiring ride back though pleasant with a bit of sunshine. Funny how only a few months of not riding long distance and a not very hilly 38 mile return trip starts to feel like a long way!