Great Langdale is about 18 miles from where I live in Kendal and I managed to get a lift with my friend Sharon, her husband and her daughter. We got parked amazingly easily, in the field earmarked for the purpose! Sharon's daughter entered the fun run and the rest of us ran the 10K. We cheered the kids past the finish line and then it was time for us to head to our start line. Nobody had warned me that the start point was about a half mile walk from where the car park was - off we trudged. The weather was debating whether to rain or not and kept threatening us with a few showers! I decided to use Sharon as my pacer, as she is getting some fab times at the moment and I thought if I could keep up with her I would be doing well! Her husband obviously didn't want to be associated with us and he disappeared into the crowds and that was the last I saw of him until the finish line! The setting was fabulous, standing at the start surrounded by fells and fields - very scenic, a little different to Liverpool!
The tannoy sounded and before I knew it we were off!! I set my Garmin as I crossed the start line, and I was greeted almost immediately by a hill! Muttering under my breath "Stay calm, and keep running" (my mantra!), I kept hot on the heels of Sharon. I wasn't going to allow her to get away! This course was described as "undulating", I have decided this was secret code for "this course is positively mountainous, but if I write that no-one will come, so we will pretend that it's made up of nice, gentle, rolling slopes... ". I should have realised mind you since the Langdale Marathon is described as one of the hardest in the UK - says it all!
Back to the race! I was managing fairly well to keep tabs on Sharon on the "undualting roads" until the 3 mile mark, it was at this point that she started to break away! There was a drinks station around about here, serving water in plastic cups - note to self - really must practise this running and drinking lark without getting a shower at the same time! I really don't think very much of the water made it past my lips! Not far past this drinks station the road looped around and we were on our way back! Quite a nice feeling to see runners still running in the opposite direction - at least I knew I wasn't going to be last!! When I am running my own routes I ALWAYS avoid "out and back" routes so it was very strange for me to be running back the way I had just come!! Funny how "BIG" uphills on the way there seem like only little "downhills" on the way back, and little "Downhills" on the way there seem like mountains on the way back!! I could still see Sharon in the far distance so I gritted my teeth and gave myself one last push, especially after glancing at my Garmin and seeing it was getting dangerously close to my 55 minute goal time! I dug deep and I could finally see the finish, I was steered to take a right turn by a Marshall and soon found myself in the "finishing" field! I could see the finish line, I was elated but the buggers had us running right round the outside of the field before we could actually fall run through the finish! I actually found this last part the hardest of the course, my jelly legs and uneven terrain wasn't a match made in heaven - although it was flat the field was very, very uneven with mounds of cow poo mud to avoid! I was cheered on through the finish by a handful of very overenthusiastic supporters (Not quite the GNR but the intention was the same!) and I was delighted when I stopped my Garmin and saw the golden 54 minutes! I actually felt more tired after doing this 10K then I did after finishing the Liverpool Half Marathon! Not sure whether its the hills or the pace that did me!!
I haven't had my official time yet but since it wasn't a chipped race I will only get a gun time so my Garmin will be more accurate (Unless of course the gun time is a quicker time! lol). I was greeted by Sharon and her daughter at the finish (Sharon managed 52:40) and we waited with baited breath for her husband to appear! He finished in just over the hour and had even managed to make a pal on the way! It was at this point we went to get refreshments (water and a jelly baby!) and then on to the prizes tent! What did I get? A T-Shirt! Not a medal in sight! Another mantra of mine is "No bling, No Les" but they had kept that one quiet and I stupidly assumed there would be one!! I'd rather swap my T shirt for a bit of bling any day! Hey Ho too late, can't undo all my efforts and running in beautiful Langdale Valley more than made up for the lack of bling and really made me appreciate what a fabulous area we live in!
However, my friends daughter seeing how distraught I was with the lack of medal let me borrow the one she'd got for finishing the fun run (how is that fair? Just cos they are kids they get a medal!!) . So I actually got a photo of me with a medal on! Bless her! Everyone in the finishing field might have thought I'd won as I was the only adult with a medal!!! (yeah dream on!).
One thing I did find mighty strange, although it was beneficial for me, was it was advertised as a 10K race but all the way markers were in miles! I was pleased about this as KM's mean nothing to me and I would only have known that at 5K I was half way! View my 10K race here on Runkeeper.
So, What's, next? Well in 3 weeks time I will find myself retracing some of the steps I took today when I am doing the K2B 40 mile walk! (coincidentally it's on some of the same roads!), then I have another 10K race in June, a Half Marathon in August and another in September climaxing with a Marathon in October!!! Scary scary thought!!
Is it wine O'clock yet?
Eventually the official gun time results have been published and has me as 54 minutes 6 seconds! (Garmin time 54:02!)
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