Parbold Hill trail race
I ran in the Parbold Hill trail race today (6.75 miles). This race has been going every year for 38 years.
There was a good turnout of 456 and as always it was good to see a huge mix of people - young/old/small/big/short/tall!
I came 103rd - the results are here and there is a map of the course here. My time works out at 7.43 average min/miles which isn’t too bad at all considering the undulating terrain. The course was mostly on tracks but there were a few road sections. There were also quite a few hills that climb 300ft or so rather quickly. The biggest and most challenging of these was Parbold Hill itself which just kept going on and on! At one point I thought I was nearing the top and sped up a bit, only to find another false summit… There were also a number of sections through muddy fields, over styles, and also on muddy tracks… Did I mention the mud? I’ve really got to get some proper fell/mountain shoes as my poor trainers were sliding all over the place. Towards the end there were a few hurdles too (nearly slipped over the second one).
In the races I’ve done so far I’ve tended to go quite quickly at the start (to get into some space) then go at a steady pace trying to pick people off where possible, before a sprint at the finish. However today I started off fairly quickly and just kept going, only slowing down for the hills! I was certainly pretty tired by the end and felt like I’d pushed it more than usual. It gives me even greater respect for everyone in front of me, as I certainly came close to finding my limits. Guess I just need more practice!
