Sam Harper and I were the only Croft attendees of this 10k multi-terrain event. Numbers were down from last year, I believe, with only 80 of us gearing up for the start on a surprisingly muggy afternoon. This was a race of two halves: the first three miles were pretty flat, run mainly on pavements or hard-packed surfaces around the edge of fields (not good when you’re wearing your off-road shoes!). Finally, in mile 4 we started to climb up into Credenhill Wood and the race got more interesting and challenging! I was assured by an adjacent runner that once we got to the top of the long drag it was undulating from there but what he hadn’t realised was that they had changed the route this year! The final section was a short but steep climb through a partially-felled part of the wood, with plenty of stray logs and branches acting as obstacles, before a mad dash back down to the churchyard, across a field and to the finish. A good race in all but it was just a shame that more was not off-road as the woods were really pleasant to run through.
I finished in 5th woman (21st out of 80 runners) in 52.48 and Sam was 8th woman (29th) in 53.48. We think we both picked up age category trophies but there was a lot of confusion in sorting out the generous number of awards so after an hour and a half, we decided the need for a hot shower was greater and headed home!
First man was Matt James, Hereford Couriers, in 41.04 and first woman, Megan Judge, Malvern Joggers, in 46.37.