Muddy Woody

Race Reports

283 runners squelched uphill & down dale in yesterday’s aptly-named Muddy Woody race.  Although the weather that came before & after was pretty horrible, during the race conditions were excellent, dry & sunny with no more than a gentle breeze.

Matt Moffatt was the first Croft runner, finishing 23rd in 50:49. The battle for the MU20 trophy between Jasper & Will caught fire in the last mile of the race. I could see Jasper ahead of me, seemingly content to be trundling along in a stream of runners and I was gradually catching them. Then Will went past me in a good rhythm, moving well & looking good. Inevitably, he caught the group in front, made his way through it and passed Jasper. It looked all over for him, but his determination and his downhill speed sent him flying past Will on the last long steep descent. That was enough. Jasper was 55th in 55:31, with Will just 3 seconds behind him in 56th with nothing left in the tank, but having run a great race.

Kelly was next home, 6th female, 61st overall in 56.06. I came 64th in 56.45, nearly 10 min ahead of my nearest age-group rival. I had followed Jo T for the first couple of miles, admiring her lightfooted nimbleness before passing her just after the river bridge. She finished 80th in 59.32, with Steph M 83rd in 1h02. Katie Jones was 101st in1.03.07, Rob Wood 169thin1.09.54 & Graham Crane 197th in1.14.00. Robyn was there in support but unable to run because of injury, while poor Scott was laid low with the lurgy. Jo & Jasper had both had it a couple of days previously but had recovered in time for the race (Jasper having needed my healthcare skills)

An interesting feature of this race, familiar to Parkrunners, was the experimental use of barcodes on the number. It’s difficult for me to be sure, but it seemed to reduce the time between the end of the race & presentations.

 

Thanks to Jo Tilby and Nick Lattey.co.uk for the photos

Comment on this article

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.