South Cheshire 20
10th May 2009

South Cheshire 20 – waking up as the cock Crewe

I have done a number of pre-marathon long races this year (3 x 20s, the Grizzly and a 30k) because it puts more discipline into the run, adds an extra competitive edge to the occasion, and, significantly, it’s fun!

Rob Bishop and I entered this race to constitute the last ‘long’ long run 3 weeks before the Edinburgh Marathon.  As the Crewe area is over 100 miles away from home and the race started at 9.30 we had to leave home at 6.30. Purely to do that on a Sunday morning, with our ‘living on the edge’ lifestyles, I think we deserved medals and tee shirts.  Once we were on the road though, with our fanatical groupies Fiona and Keith ensconced in the car, we felt OK, the M6 behaved and the journey took us less than 2 hours, although Mr Lakin was asleep for most of the time…no stamina.

We went to collect our numbers in the sports hall and we were soon approached by a runner from somewhere up north (even further than Rushden), and he started moaning about the poor prizes that are awarded nowadays. In his prime they gave out massive cups that made you proud…’£5 for a veteran 50?  It’s not worth running for that’…..During this diatribe my companions disappeared one by one, and I was left to take the brunt of his ire.  When he started to tell me about his history of unfortunate injuries and setbacks I started to edge towards the door, but he followed me, determined to outline every tragic occurrence in his life.  As I muttered ‘I must find a toilet, good luck’, he at least broke into a smile and waved.  I escaped and found my companions with irritating grins on their faces.

I digress. The race is run through very picturesque countryside, mainly on country lanes; when we were on more major roads there was always a path, so we never felt vulnerable.  For the first 7 miles or so the runner is lured into a false sense of security, as the route is quite flat.  After that the fun begins and the switchback ups and downs of the Cheshire countryside become more apparent, to a certain extent offsetting the pain of the hills.

Both Rob and I enjoyed the race; the support, mainly from the groupies popping up every few miles, was enthusiastic, and the marshals were helpful and friendly.  Bad jokes and ribald comments were exchanged between us while were running together. We even caught up Mr Misery half way round, and he was grumbling about something as we passed him. There was no way that he would win one of the meagre prizes….

We both enjoyed the race, I was pleased with my time (almost identical to the other two this year!) and Mr Bishop even managed to get a pb.  The course I suppose is comparable to Oakley in its undulations.  If anyone fancies an early Sunday morning trip up the M6 I recommend this pleasant race.  Don’t take Mr Lakin though, he’ll only go to sleep in the car and increase your petrol consumption!

Robin

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