Parbold Hill Race

Race: Parbold Hill Race, Lancashire (6.75m)
Time/Position: 46.33 (17th from 464 [4th V40])
This famous race was celebrating its 45th birthday this year, making it three months older than me. It tends to clash with the Wrexham half marathon, which is some explanation for the fact that I have never done it before. It is a real cracker: which hovers some way between a fell race and a trail race in tone. A frantic start, dashing round a field, leads to a long road section through Bispham village, then off road on a fell-race style climb to a quarry, surprisingly steep. From here some fields lead eventually to the road at Parbold and a longer climb on the main road (A5209) to the top of the hill. I fell headlong on one of the muddier sections, but a soft landing meant no harm was done. I gained three places on the climb and pushed on a bit for the superb running along fields and tracks at the top of the very broad 'ridge' which leads to some kind of summit. I slid under a stile with a mile to go, painfully scraping the skin from my shins. Hobbling a bit, my ankle still fragile, I slowed for the leap over the hay bale then the plunge into the stream just before the finish: and lost the places I'd gained.

Alsager 5m

Race: Alsager 5
Time/Position: 28.47 (77th from 896)
Despite the fact that recent intervals sessions have been close to my best, this was a rather disappointing minute slower than the time I'd targeted (I haven't done many flat 5 milers so hoped to get under my PB of 28.00). Alsager is a fast course and a well-known competitive race which attracts an elite field from across the UK, but despite that I struggled almost from the start. I went through the second mile well over my target time of 11 minutes, then fell back further as the route switches back from the town centre to a long run-in against a fairly brisk and cold headwind.