off road
I had my first ever off road race on Saturday. And it certainly was not the last one.
My alarm went off in the early hours of the morning, but somehow gobbling down a bowl of porridge took us a fair bit longer than expected and we finally arrived to the coastal Devon location after the official registration time had already closed. Luckily this did not prevent us from taking part.
The list of equipment that we were supposed to carry would have been sufficient for a polar expedition but unfortunately the organisers were adamant when it came to safety procedures. Hence I had shopped for an emergency foil blanket, which only barely fitted into one of my pockets. I was not willing to carry a back bag for such a short distance.
It was a glorious day – sunny and warm. In the middle of February.
We took off.
Already in the first kilometre there was a stream, which was too wide to jump over. Serious test for my new cortex shoes. Wicked.
Mud.
Rocky uphill.
Rocky downhill.
Flat, up, down, through mud, down, up, through another stream, over a fence, back in the forest, along the gorge, against the wind, my, more mud, even more mud, and another fence….
Already at an early stage I had passed all my female competitors but struggled taking over the men. Idiots. Wouldn’t let me past.
Last downhill and I was struggling. Steep, steep fall. And up again.
I crossed the finishing line more than 10minutes before the second lady and on the 12th place in the whole race. I was gutted. I still had steam in me so should have pushed it into men’s top 10. How much better would that sound.
We had to dash off before the prize ceremony but was made aware that the prize involved money. Wicked. I had just been paid to do something I have no problems paying to do. Fantastic.
For the rest of the day I was raving. Ecstatic.
Running had just been taken to a completely different level. Unlike on the road, every step was an achievement and a task of its own. And the scenery.
Why road race? Why indeed? When you could be playing in the mud and having fun.
And the next one is….must investigate.
My alarm went off in the early hours of the morning, but somehow gobbling down a bowl of porridge took us a fair bit longer than expected and we finally arrived to the coastal Devon location after the official registration time had already closed. Luckily this did not prevent us from taking part.
The list of equipment that we were supposed to carry would have been sufficient for a polar expedition but unfortunately the organisers were adamant when it came to safety procedures. Hence I had shopped for an emergency foil blanket, which only barely fitted into one of my pockets. I was not willing to carry a back bag for such a short distance.
It was a glorious day – sunny and warm. In the middle of February.
We took off.
Already in the first kilometre there was a stream, which was too wide to jump over. Serious test for my new cortex shoes. Wicked.
Mud.
Rocky uphill.
Rocky downhill.
Flat, up, down, through mud, down, up, through another stream, over a fence, back in the forest, along the gorge, against the wind, my, more mud, even more mud, and another fence….
Already at an early stage I had passed all my female competitors but struggled taking over the men. Idiots. Wouldn’t let me past.
Last downhill and I was struggling. Steep, steep fall. And up again.
I crossed the finishing line more than 10minutes before the second lady and on the 12th place in the whole race. I was gutted. I still had steam in me so should have pushed it into men’s top 10. How much better would that sound.
We had to dash off before the prize ceremony but was made aware that the prize involved money. Wicked. I had just been paid to do something I have no problems paying to do. Fantastic.
For the rest of the day I was raving. Ecstatic.
Running had just been taken to a completely different level. Unlike on the road, every step was an achievement and a task of its own. And the scenery.
Why road race? Why indeed? When you could be playing in the mud and having fun.
And the next one is….must investigate.
posted by riikka @ 11:15 AM
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