Porridge for tea?! This can only mean one thing...
...that’s right, the Pendle and Burnley Grand Prix has begun! And with my first race taking place at 7pm on a Friday, it meant my takeaway treat was replaced with a hastily guzzled bowl of porridge (with a drizzle of honey...it’s all about the honey!).
The Grand Prix is new territory to me, and to a beginner the thought of taking part in this summer series full of club runners can be very daunting. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. It turned out to be more of a social gathering with a smattering of running in between.
We all registered at Earby Cricket Club (for the bargain sum of a fiver) and then had a gentle warm-up to the start line, which was actually just in the middle of a road. It felt like we were recreating scenes from the Bible: we would hear a cry of “CAR!” and everyone on the ‘start line’ would disperse to either side of the road to give way to traffic, like Moses and the parting of the Red Sea! Suddenly the crowd surged forward so those of us towards the back guessed the race had started and we followed suit. The informality of these local races is something I absolutely adore!
Pinhaw trail race is a cracking route, which is basically 2.5 miles up a hill to the trig point, turn around and fly the 2.5 miles back down the same way. This provides great entertainment for us slower runners as we see the front runners come flying back down as we are still on our way up.
The Team TAC spirit was sky high as every single one of us was cheering for each other as we passed, even the rockets at the front whose lungs were literally at bursting point managed a quick cheer, wave or shout of support to their club mates and other running buddies.
I managed to complete the race without face-palming the ground or twisting an ankle, and I even managed to avoid the ravenous bog monsters that seemed to be gobbling up a lot of legs that night.
Scott Grant was pulled into one of these bogs all the way up to shoulder height! After seeing the state of him at the finish line, I was very thankful that I didn’t fall into that same bog...I’d have still been trying to swim my way out! Derrick also found his way into a deep bog (I’m not sure we’re convincing him that these muddy trail and fell races are fun!).
I pushed all the way to the top but still conserved enough energy to fly back down. As ever, all my teammates who had already finished were there to cheer me home. Official results have me in at 44:35 and I’m really pleased with that time.
Team TAC had some stellar performances as always. There were a stonking 34 Trawden AC runners (more than any other club) and I’d love to mention them all but brevity is not my strong point so I’ll just pick out a few.
Darren Holland was our first man across the line, closely followed by Paul Brown and Ryan Belshaw. Our first three ladies were Molly Ralphson, Fiona Hall and Christina Singleton. Congratulations to Jean Baistow who ran an incredible race and scooped up first LV65 prize. Calum Grant and Harry Kaye achieved incredible times, and Andy Hall chopped an enormous 7 minutes off last year’s race time – well done boys!
A fantastic race, superbly organised, marshalled by some of the happiest volunteers I’ve come across and completely dominated by black and white stripes. Next up in the series is another weekday evening race, so I’d best replenish the porridge stocks for the Wholan Nook Trail....
(All photographs copyright Woodentops)
