Tattenhall Tough Team

Race: Tattenhall Tough Team (9m+)
Time/Position: 61.41 (6th from 197 [2nd team from 66])
Fourth time at this great event, but the first time I've ever done it properly as a team: much better, good fun and camaraderie, with a tactical element. Previously, I have always been middle man, isolated between Jez and either Eric or Steve. This time, Chris and Dave were my team-mates, which Chris has long suggested would make an ideal team. He was absolutely right, it worked really well - I tried to make up for the age gap (I was the oldest by some margin!) by keeping the pace steady, which is what I'd been employed to do. We stuck together for the first long road section, in the lead at this point, then teams from Helsby and Wallasey started to pull clear as we entered the long off-road section through the Peckforton Hills. We moved into second place, and held this on the infamous and outrageously steep railway, although could never quite catch the Helsby team. Chris slipped behind slightly, but by the time we reached the flatter fields we were all together again, which was brilliant as this is the most enjoyable section of the race with views out to the Cheshire plain. On the long road run in, we could see Helsby in front of us, tantalisingly close, but they had around a minute on Chris and I by the finish back in Tattenhall. Dave slipped a few seconds behind, but we were comfortably established in second place by then (the same position as myself, Jez and Eric finished in last year). Good fun, but then it was time for every recovery technique I could muster before tomorrow's important Moel Hebog race.