Jack & Jill 5 Mile
'Just a nice little run', he said, 'Why don't you travel down to Clayton in West Sussex with me and run?'...
Run!? Sure, if the hills weren't so flipping steep!
There were two races that day. A 30 mile ultra which started at 9:00 and our 5 miler that started at 11:00. After a good drive down, we arrived about an hour before the start - which was handy as there were plenty of tea and cakes for sale.
As we started it was a lap of the playing field and then straight in to a climb up the first hill, for about a mile past the Jack & Jill windmills. Just as we thought things were looking good and levelling out, down we went... A nice half mile road section. But after that it was back up to the top again. At the top we were on a flat for about half a mile. Eric went past me at around 4 miles and pulled out 20-25 seconds on me.
Soon we were heading downhill fast toward the finish, so I thought I'd try to catch up with Eric. As we entered the final circuit of the playing field, a couple of spectators shouted to me 'Go on and catch your mate!', so I dug deep and in the last 20 metres managed to get past him by two seconds. So good fun, but for a moment I thought I had blown my lift home - a pint in The Plough eased the pain of defeat for him, though. Alan White.
Times:
Alan White 52:14
Eric Beck 52:16
Winner: James Baker 31:58.