The day started off after only having a few hours sleep and eating a raw bannana for breakfast which the skin wouldn't peel off and was very bitter. I made the short drive to Cindys and we were on our way to the Saltfest. There were little market stalls set up maybe not enough to occupy Cindys children, husband and sister Wendy but they seemed happy enough. With the change in weather.. yes where did summer go? It is back to the old question of what to wear? Do I brave it with a tshirt knowing I'll warm up after a few miles but risk my garmin getting wet if it rained or wear jackets, waterproofs,hats. Too much choice! I opted for the cap and coat. The concept of the race as it was largely canal based was three runners would be free to run every 20 seconds leaving a gap so there wasn't too much congestion on the narrow parts. This I feel didn't work at all as it wasn't based on your estimated finish time or pace per mile so some slower runners (myself and Cindy included) starting near the front then just got in the way.
Off we went over a bouncy bridge which made you feel slightly drunk and onto the canal path which was very narrow with overgrown reeds that whipped in your face and some mud. Within the first mile we were overtaken by lots of other runners who had the courtesy to shout out "on your left/right" so we knew which side to move across to to get out the way. All of the runners stuck to this etiquette except one.. For the purpose of the blog I will call her Cellulite bum as well quite frankly that's what she was! Though her name will change as the blog goes on. She came up behind and yelled "MOVE" no please or even a thank you after we had moved over for her to then run I may add very slowly in front of us. At mile 2 I couldn't be arsed I wanted to give up not because I couldn't do it..heck I've ran 35 miles non stop before in worse conditions but because the voices in my head were telling me I couldn't do it. We had a stint of having to run single file so weren't talking too much I looked at my garmin at just under 3 miles and realised we were running a bit quicker than I would have liked but I didn't want to admit this to Cindy. Not to matter as half a mile on Cindy also noticed how fast we were running and said it was too fast and maybe we should ease back a little. After the canal path came the fields... lots of them big open ones filled with sheep and cow poo and even a herd of cows. There were these funny metal gates with locks on that we had to figure out you could only have 1 person go through at a time due to the mechanics of them and at one point we got stuck in a gate!! At around 4.5 miles we came across a big hill "oh god not a bloody hill" But with The Beast coming up next week which the sole purpose off is to run the hill I had to get down to it. I ran most of the way up then walked a bit and caught Cindy up at the top as she was stuck at another gate. We carried on running together at this point and all of a sudden Marathon Morris decided to up and leave and Moaning Minnie stepped right in her place. I admit I was boring myself with my moaning but Cindy managed to get me out of it soon enough spurring me on. At mile 5 we ran past a marshall who said go through the gate and up the big hill... I think marshalls should be banned from using that word. This hill Oh My God never seen anything like it! All the way up (and yes I did run it) I had that little voice telling me I should drop out of the beast next week after all that's 13.1 miles) Half way up the hill I noticed Cellulite bum in front and was horrified with the fact that she had peed herself whilst running. She had a massive wet patch spreading from her crotch all the way down the back of her thighs... So I then gave her the honorable title of Pissy Pants!
Getting to the top we then ran into a field. Now bear with me on this part... for those of you old/young enough to have read enid blyton books you may remember the Magic Faraway tree in the Enchanted wood? Well this field was like something out of this... it was as I called it the Never Ending Field..... it went on and on and on and on and on in the far distance you could just make out the high vis jackets of other runners and still it was going on I half expected Moon Face to come along to tell me it was a joke. We came across a lot of headwind and rain in the Never Ending Field. It did eventually come to an end and at 6 miles Cindy and I were feeling good and had reached the point only runners will understand when you feel like you can run forever. The last 3 miles took us back the way we had come along the canal and we managed to run together this time chatting away. I realised maybe the race wasn't too bad but was still pleased it was nearly over.. I wasn't impressed that Cellulite Pissy Pants had beaten us but you can't win them all.
Coming to the finish line and our little crowd of supporters were waiting taking photos and we were presented with our medals and could have free bangers & mash from the local pub. I skipped that and opted for a bag of sugar donuts 4 of them! Whilst walking back to the car with bag of donuts in hand, one being mashed into my mouth a farmer market man came across with a box of apples and said "now you look like a healthy young lady here's an apple!" Sorry did he miss the massive wedge of donuts in my mouth and hand?
It was a great day and I'd like to thank Cindy for getting me and Moaning Minnie around in one piece.
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