Breidden Hills

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First race in the Shropshire Winter Fell Series, the Breidden Hills race saw an impressive turn out of 124 runners for what promised to be a day spent in thick mist with no indication of what we were about to climb. Starting from Criggion village hall near Welshpool the race made a fast ascent on a forestry track as runners jockeyed for position for what seemed to be a mile of constant climbing. Reaching the first summit and crossing sodden fields I felt more relaxed as the field gradually parted into clear racing packs as we battled for position on the various tough switchbacks. After a rocky technical descent, a final ascent was made to the top of Rodney’s Pillar where we were treated with sunshine and amazing hilltop views before being engulfed again in mist. Reaching the forestry track I managed to overtake and create enough distance from a chasing pack to hold my own and was pleased to find some speed and finish the 11Km course with 650m ascent in a time of 1.11.16 and 36 th overall. Ruth Stafford running in Mercia colours also had an impressive run to finish in 1.16.08 and 53 rd despite her visibility being impaired due to her glasses steaming up. Tim Davies from Mercia finished the course in 0.54.50. A benchmark time to aim for!

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