Here be Dragons! Written on September 28, 2009, by johnh.
Five members of the SAAB Salomon outdoor team (and Tim) competed in the Sheffield round of the Turbo X series in Wharncliffe woods at the weekend, and it was another clean sweep for the team. Nick Swinburn crossed the line first, Ricky was second, I was third and Rob Hope was fourth whilst Natalie was a comfortable winner in the ladies race. The ‘managment’ also acquitted themselves well, with Tim coming home in sixth and first vet 40, and Matt managed to keep the proceedings ticking along nicely with his dulcet tones providing commentary.
I have lived in Sheffield for the past four years, and have only managed to get to Wharncliffe to run a handful of times. However, on those occasions I have made it to the far side of the city I have found it offers some of the best running in the area. That is no mean feat considering the quality of running available in the area. Not only is the running great in Wharncliffe, but local legend holds that it is also home to a Dragon! Considering the quality of the running in Wharncliffe the race didn’t disappoint. After a quick first couple of miles on forest tracks the race was a tough, hilly mud-fest. Thankfully nobody got singed by the dragon!
Personally I was fairly happy with my run. I set of with Nick and Ricky, and managed to stick with the pace for a while, but slowly faded back as the race went on. Normally I would be a bit disappointed to drop of the pace like that, but my training has been a bit up and down whilst I have been finishing my PhD. Thankfully I put the finishing touches to it on Friday, so hopefully I’ll be able to get a routine going now.
One day I will learn to put photos on these blogs, but until then you’ll have to be happy with web links.
