Unpardonably, your correspondent has failed to file copy in the last month or so, sadly having been put out of action by an unfortunate injury to his typing finger sustained at a Hereford beautician’s. [Name and address below].
In fact, because of injuries and perhaps the twilight nature of the space between the winter and summer seasons, activity levels have been rather low. Come to think of it, some athletes may even have been training!
On the fells, Steve Littlewood has been nothing short of rampant [God help us all]. He strode to a fine V60 victory in the wretchedly cruel Cribyn race which climbs over 3000 feet in 5.5 miles Then, on a tough Steam Bunny course down at Pontypool, he dominated the strong V60 field stripped to his skin-tight black leotard in the freezing rain while his competitors shivered in three or more layers, unable to see him as he forged ahead,eerily silhouetted against the murky skyline. He followed these wins with an easy category victory in the Crocodile which at 8.8 miles is a little long for him given that his running is only squeezed in between his real interests [cycling time trials, climbing, swimming, gymwork and clubbing]. Watch out for him at Snowdon this year. He is in the mood for something special. Also on the fells, Martyn Peters kept the red flag flying high with some fearsome descending at Cwmdu, another 3000 foot + event, with nearly 10 miles to negotiate. Martyn likes it tough.
At the Crocodile we were unusually sparsely represented. Poor Eliot was unwell on the day and struggled home in 16th when he was strongly tipped for victory. Dave Williams managed a creditable 23rd [out of 248] after injury woes but apart from the illustrious Action Man, these were our only runners.
There were a few more at the Hereford Half, with Richie Bamford well up in 15th in 1.25.19. It was also good to see our ace cyclist, ironman Luke Williams touching the ground with his feet again in 32nd, in 1.28.27. Neil was 97th in 1.35.59, Clare Scott 130th in 1.38.43, Chris Cleary 260th in 1.47.05 [presumably finding the distance a bit much] and Bev Tyler 436th [still with well over 100 behind her] in a shade over the 2 hour mark.There was a stunning run from Rich Hughes in 6th overall, clocking 1.21.56. And remember, 13 miles is a bit more than his normal weekly tally. A brilliant effort!
At the Magic Roundabout, surely the most scenic event on the calendar, we were strangely only represented by a couple of pensioners, with the Kipper for once in a blue moon managing to get in front of Littlewood [but only by 8 seconds!] to carry off the V60 prize. The undulating course was thought not to test the latter’s virility sufficiently.
The 5K Series will be reported on after the final race on 12th June.
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