All prepared to prove the selectors and the racers I could be considered as a strong contender off road, having not run the course struggled to know what the course would entail and although managed to get the course on my watch felt unprepared. Pretty down from the last few weeks training, fighting a fever and still not understanding how this has been this way since Christmas and like a roller-coaster up and down. When it really hit me was February and becoming a real nightmare screwing all my planned races. Being stubborn and having pre-booked this race with Alex decided I was still going to run it despite how I felt. There were over 800 runners, poor organization for a trials race despite communicating with the Race Director to understand conditions etc… Not enough toilets and a ridiculous tight uphill cobbled street and no race briefing??
Gutted to have been in the top 5 to ultimately finish 7th with numb legs and feeling dizzy and to top it off no idea where the finish was and the course GPX last few miles off course for the race. Having committed in there was no way even at 12/13 miles feeling lousy I was going to turn round. The race for me was a disappointment because I fell jumping over a water jump and smacked my hand, shin, and arm and reduced me to tears put picked myself up and carried on only 5 k into the race. The climbs became painful aswell because I had no energy but determined to finish there I was pushing to the finish through mud, water, hills, and rocks along with worrying about trench foot ( had in the past. Without being too negative I will talk the positives, I finished, the time was way off what I wanted in 4:58.13 , I loved some of the scenery and put down to a long training weekend and we managed to catch up also with Alex’s family. At this point, I didn’t know I had been suffering from Glandular fever.
http://fellrunner.org.uk/results/race17/17_hobble.html