Yesterdays Green Man boasted near perfect running weather - mostly overcast, showers, short spells of sunshine. Unfortunately very muddy underfoot, the slippiness making the muscles work even harder. With heavier trainers than normal, due to the large clods of mud that just would not shake off. But, absolutely brilliant and loads of trail running fun.
The checkpoints were reasonably stocked; the support from both marshals and families was lovely. The medal has to be shown off as much as possible ; the finishers tee shirt to be worn with much pride. Running down to the suspension bridge towards the end of the race, felt magical in itself.
Running with the ten hour pacer (or Time Lord, as is their official title) , was both a challenge and assistance; many times I wanted to drop down to a slower pace but managed to hang in with the group. Running as a group offers huge motivation during those bad moments. Following this group resulted in a pb for this distance; I will be thrilled with this result for a long while to come. Huge thanks to the organisers for introducing pacers, and to the pacers themselves for doing such a fantastic job.
On a more personal note, huge thanks also to MDS and Ironman legend Rob; the poor chap remained in earshot of my inane chattering for the whole ten hours - he has the patience of a saint. It turned the day into incredible.
Good times indeed.
