Time/Position: 1.17.36 (27th from 100 [2nd V50])
This was a race too far for me: the brain was willing but the legs were not. I started off reasonably well but then the marathon caught up with me, so I ended up jogging to the finish and enjoying the route - its typical borders scenery bringing back nice memories of my summer on Offa's Dyke. I last did the race 10 years ago during the Welsh Champs campaign - in both my previous runnings of it (2010, 2011) I'd taken 62 minutes and finished comfortably in the top 10. Very different today, although the course is now harder with 100m more climbing. I felt OK initially, remembering the very long but fairly gentle climb which takes you out of Wales towards Kempster's Hill. From there, the route twists south-west back into Wales over the superb ridge which leads over Middletown Hill to Moel y Golfa. This is rocky in places, with a mini slabby crag at one point. A steep descent from Golfa led to a steep climb back out where I began to struggle properly, really feeling the fatigue. The run-in was just a gentle job, losing places and the category prize as I slowed to a crawl through the woods and the last sharp dig to Rodney's Pillar. A great direct descent back to the finish in Criggion.
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