Gin Pit 5 - Race Report
Race Report by Wesley Mort:
The Gin Pit 5 on the face of it looked a relatively simple flat and short trail race, and with three NWFPAC runners planning on turning up it looked like a nice little first race back after injury. On top of that, with no Steve Henderson (another wedding) and Dave Simmons missing it (sore legs after Chester Marathon), it also looked like a good opportunity to get some points on the board. Upon arrival we received the news that one of our runners had been struck down with 24 hr man flu so we were down to two and would be only represented by David James and I.
The race was very much a club runners affair with most of the Manchester AC's being represented – in fact there was very few unattached runners when looking at the results after the race. The weather was a little cool but dry which made for very agreeable running conditions if not a bit chilly on the start line. The race started half way up a slight hill, which we would see a number of times before the race was over and which would seemingly get increasingly steeper as the race wore on. 200 plus runners set off after an inaudible talk from the organiser and although the trail was quite narrow the field spread out pretty quickly. The course consisted of one 1 mile loop and two 2 mile laps, all of which included the hill up to the start / finish line, and was generally made up of pretty solid trails with a slight scattering of muddy bits, certainly nothing that even a pair of road shoes couldn't handle. I set off a little quick, probably with the excitement of racing again and forgetting that I have only done a couple of weeks training since my knee owch. That said, by mile three, my legs reminded me that I am not quite as fit as I thought I was and the pace slowed somewhat, luckily this was as I entered the last lap so I had that light at the end of the tunnel to keep me going. We were also cheered along on each lap by David Simmons who had turned up with his daughter to give support and it was much appreciated.
I crossed the finish line ahead of my planned time, happy to be finished but more than anything very very happy to be racing again. The results - I finished 58th in a time of 33.54 and David James finished 110th in 37.33.
Looking forward to the next race and, after some fighting talk from Mr Simmons, looking forward to Heaton Park Parkrun, the last race of the series.
