Well the first British Championship counter has been and gone, and like usual when you think you are running well, the sheer depth of talent that these races bring just puts you in your place! The Coledale Horseshoe is a race that i've wanted to do since i first started running and the hills around the Newlands Valley and Braithwaite are some of my favourite in the country, so i was excited to run the course hard and see what i could do.
The race set off at a frantic pace up through the field and it was elbows out to jostle for a good postition before being spat out onto the road and the epic climb up Grisedale pike. I felt really strong on the climb and was passing people all the way up, if anything the summit came a bit soon for my liking, the extra ascent in training must have been working! The route then contours around Hopegill Head before a second punishing climb up to Eel Crag, this was classic hands on knees tackle and again i felt really strong all the way up. On the long descent from Eel Crag i stitched up quite badly and lost the flow a bit, getting passed by a few runners, i was glad when the short climb up to the final summit of Barrow came and i was able to slow things down a bit and compose myself for the final fling down to the finish.
I have to say i'm fairly happy with my 95th place and 6th under 23 but there is more to come, many things to ponder and many more miles to run........
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