Great West Run - 1st May 2005 (Inc. BMAF Championships)
All week I had been feeling good, with both Osteopath and Doctor giving me no excuses; both agreed that they had not seen me fitter. Dropping out of the London Marathon with the calf strain certainly was wise; it healed in around 3 days. I stood in the start pen with every confidence of a decent run, it was warm (16°) but quite humid. As we walked down to the starting line, I noticed Dave Waywell from Wesham RR just in front of me. Dave (DW) headed the V/60 ranking for 2004 for 10 miles, so I knew that I was in for a real tussle.
Off on time, and Dave shot away like a hare, with me trying not to go too quickly. Even so I ran the first mile in 5:40, with DW a good 20 metres ahead. Up the long hill his lead had grown to 30 metres, and by the 2 mile marker he was around 40 metres to the good. I was concentrating SO hard on not letting him get too far ahead that I had no thought to check my watch or indeed take split times at each mile as I do normally.
I sought to work my way gradually back to him, and once into the town centre (and 5) he did seem to be 'coming back'. Up Blackboy Hill I certainly felt him faltering a bit, and I redoubled my concentration -- a metre here, metre there -- and by 6 he was just 20 metres up. The calves were hanging together well, but the tension in my right hamstring was palpable.
As we passed the Arena to start the second lap, I had him in my sights. Just around 15 metres now and I relaxed a bit, planning in my mind just where on the course I would make my effort to pass. Out to the Exeter By Pass, smiling inwardly and feeling 'in control'. As we turned up the long hill I felt a long cramp spasm in my right hamstring, and to bring it under some control I had to 'chop' my stride up the hill. Rats... at the top he was again 40 metres up, and I was not too sure that I could even finish the race at that pace.
I fought the pain and my doubts all the way through Beacon Heath, but he was slowly gaining on me. I did get a 10 mile time... 62:08 (although I could not see it at the time) DW must have been around 25 seconds ahead of that - to put that into context, those times would have been 7th and 8th in the 10-mile rankings for 2004 (again, I had no inkling of that at the time, I was absolutely flat out, straining all I had to close the dratted gap)!
The rest? The gap slowly grew and I could do nothing about it at all. I was still running 10/10ths, but not making any impact. On the track to finish DW was rounding the final bend, but I sought to raise a sprint to at least see a decent time.
Finished in 1:22:49 (Gun time), but 1:22:46 chip time (86.79%) for, I thought, the silver medal. In the finish funnel a SW-Vets Official told me I had won the gold. But I pointed to DW and said, " 'fraid not... he did".
Two hours later and the (rather ill attended) BMAF Championships prize giving. Hugh, we knew, had the silver in the Vet/45 in 1:18:43 (Gun time). Great to see another Harrier winning an award. I had for some while been talking to DW, comparing notes as one does. Then it came to the Vet/60 awards. Dave might have won the GWR Vet/60 category, but for some reason I still do not understand, I was awarded the BMAF Gold. Someone said that all BMAF entrants had to be a member of their regional Vet Club (in our case SW Vets), and that he was not a member of Northern Vets (Wesham is near Blackpool, Lancs).
I did not quite know how to react, particularly when I was told that my time was a new record, beating Peter Watson's previous SW-Vets Championship Record performance of 1:23:42; apparently such records can only be set in International, National or Regional Championship races.
So I was bemused, disappointed and elated all at the same time.
How does one feel in such circumstances. The tortoise won!?
Still, the medal is wonderful to own!
Roger R.
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