. Spent the night at Alfreton and got to Cromford Meadows in plenty of time and met lots of fetchies. Bused to the start and my support team drove there to see me off. My plan was to stick to ten minute miles and not to try to go any faster.
I was told there was a gentle incline for the first 11m which you could hardly notice. Well it was gentle and went on for a long time, but I did notice these rises. We got to 11m and turned back on ourselves for a short section before going on a different trail and after that I found it hard for the next 3m or so. Got through that mental hard patch, but can't remember how, which is a shame !
I was overtaking people from about 5m as they slowed and after then nobody overtook me. The marshall at 11m said we had done all the hard work, but for me this wasn't correct. There was along steady climb from 16m to 21m. Then the first descent, followed by more uphill which I had not expected. At the top I cramped, but after about a minute of stretching I carried on but more gently. Then we went down the first 1:8 descent where I couldn't let yourself go. Then more of a rise before the final long 1:8 descent before finishing along the canal towpath.
Only one major road crossing, the rest was on old railway lines. An excellent scenic course. The aim had been to stick to ten minute miles and I was happy that I had largely stuck to this, I haven't always been that disciplined. Time 4hr 19min. My legs didn't feel great afterwards in spite of taking it easy and the cramp did not bode well for the next day.
There were some great times by fetchies at this race and it was good to see so many and have their support
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