Race: Hotfoot up Famau (3.5m/1200ft/AS)
Time/Position: 38:48 (10th from 103 [4th V40])
An unusually strong field for this brutal little race this year. A good thing, too, removing the flattering security blanket that saw me finish 3rd at the Beast last week and win my category at Moel Hebog. As with last Saturday, I was a few seconds slower than last year (7 to be precise!) when I finished 4th overall. This evening, I felt a little tired after a long and stressful day at work, and lost ground even before the first descent, as a number of runners took a short-cut. This made it hard to overtake on the narrow (potentially very fast) paths down to the valley, although I did get a clear run at the steep climb up Moel y Gaer after plunging painfully through a head-height gorse bush. Good running along the ridge, battling all the way with Simon E, and down to Nant y Ne on lovely yielding soil before the leap over the stream at the bottom. I began to blow a little as we approached the gully, earlier than usual. Simon went past in the gully, but I managed to stick with him and pulled away at the start of the descent. He soon caught me, and we had a tremendous battle on the descent, passing two lads half our age in the process. I had vaguely hoped to save some energy where possible on this race, with a view to Friday's team race, although that is easier said than done on a course like this!
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