Race the Train: Bury to Rawtenstall - 'Michael Page' NWFPAC 2019 Championship - Race #5
For most of our races, we generally run in a circle round a few roads and, if we are lucky, get a coffee at the end of the race, but Race the Train was very different.
To start with this was a point to point, then on top of that you run through some pleasant Lancashire countryside and also and most importantly, there is a bar on the platform at the end.
The start was like a scene from Harry Potter on platform 9¾, we were meeting on the Bury Train platform, with various steam engines arriving at different times and all very well organised and a real atmosphere and buzz of excitement.
For the start of the race, we moved across to the adjacent car park and on the sound of the engine’s whistle we were off.
The race is approx. 10.5 miles and although the organisers were fairly vague about the time for the train to finish, although it was generally acknowledged as 1 hour 40 minutes. I worked out the time per mile needed to beat the train and thought right, that looks OK.
However, I failed to factor in a number of considerations, including, as usual with Dave’s races this year, the weather which had a part to play. We stood on the station in overcast conditions, but as soon as the race started the sun started beating down. The route was fairly interesting, with plenty of kissing gates along the route, a pretty narrow path, and a few hundred yards down a track which had six foot high nettles overhanging the path [Ed: that section was a particular favourite bit of Byron’s race].
After negotiating all of these and a few very steep inclines, I was just about on track at half way. I tried to pick up the pace towards the end and thought I was doing just about enough to beat the train. But then in the last mile as I was going past a crossing point, the barriers started to come down. So a frantic last half a mile ensued with me regularly glancing behind, looking for the train. Fortunately it did not pass and I and the other NWFPAC members managed to beat the train.
There were some fantastic performances from our runners, Byron won the V45 category with 1:10 and Charlie won the V50 category with 1:14. Most importantly though getting there quickly meant they were able to claim a place in the queue to get the beer. A really excellent day, recommended for next year’s calendar.
