As Mark and I ventured further into Wales, the hills only got bigger and left me wondering what I’d let myself in for. Nevertheless, I was in an optimistic mood and the weather wasn’t too bad either.
We arrived and registered with plenty of time to spare and met up with the rest of the strong Croft contingent. I was informed by Georgy that a sub 2hour run was “a good run”.
After a warm up which also gave us a look at the finishing half a mile, we were soon at the start and 3-2-1 go!! There was a leading pack which consisted of some Croft runners, – Mark, Sam and Dave and they were being pursued by Neil P. They soon left me behind and vanished upwards into the distance. The first 3.5-4 miles was uphill and was around a 1500ft climb. Tough start. At the top was the first water station and then an approximate 2 mile downhill section which split the runners open. It wasn’t long before we were re-entering the town, as the race was a figure of 8 route, and then heading back out, heading towards more uphill sections. At this stage in the race I preferred the uphill sections as the steep downhill parts were so quick that it was knocking the wind out of me and hurting my knees. I can remember heading through fields before I arrived at around mile ten and saw a struggling Mark L up ahead. This was only Mark’s second run in months and not a nice way to ease yourself back into things. However, I had great delight in overtaking Mark and recording my first ever victory over him in any race or training. This was a cruel section of the race as it was a steep incline. However, I managed to crawl my way up and then head home for the last 2.5 miles. I recorded a time of 1.58, which I’m happy with considering the tough route. Sam, Georgy and Neil were well placed up the field and Tom, Jo, Mark, Sam H and Gary weren’t too far behind me.
It was a cracking race with tremendous views and all the proceeds going to a charity. I’ll definitely try and beat my time next year.
Results:
1st Robin Woods in an unconfirmed course record time of 1.32.09. First Lady Julia Tello Velamazan (Aberystwyth AC) in 1:52:53
4 Sam Mayglothling 1:40:20
6 Dave George 1:42:52
7 Neil Powell 1:45:08
17 Ben Rees 1:58:02
18 Garry Gunner 1:59:46
20 (3rd lady) Jo Marriott 2:02:28
21 Mark Lamonby 2:02:45
23 Matt Moffatt 2:06:37
25 Sam Harper 2:09:45
26 Neil Taylor 2:10:08
30 Tom Davies 2:13:13
31 (F50 winner) Suzanne Powell 2:14:52
33 Crispin Marriott 2:16:45
Well done everyone who ran this race, it was tough but that just made completing it even sweeter.
Some photos are on the Ron Skilton facebook page, but keep an eye on the gallery as hopefully more photos come in.
Thanks to everyone from Croft for supporting the Ron Skilton Half. My family, who do much of the marshalling were very appreciative. Jo
Well done to all 13 Croft runners yesterday, i think we made up around a quarter of the field, could it be because it was one of our club championship races, the scenery, the sandwiches and cakes after, or maybe all 3. Mark was very brave to attempt a comeback on a very tough half marathon but it was great to see him running again even if he didn’t have enough energy to open a packet of biscuits at the end.Dave G and Sam M had another epic battle finishing 4th and 5th , Sam pacing his race perfectly to pass Dave at mile 10 and finish 2 minutes in front of him. It was also great to see Matt Moffatt even if it may have been a bit short for one of our ultra men!From my point of view the last time I ran the race in 2011 in proper Croft style I , along with several others, I got lost so it was nice to do the proper distance this time .Great race, fantastic area to run, very tough but it needs to be better publisized, I think Jo M is on the case for next year, I ran most of the race on my own , too far behind Sam and Dave and a long way in front of the next runner, if there were 100 or so entries it would improve the race no end- spread the word!
Also video on Youtube: Ron Skilton 2014 – shots of most of us and a lot of Neil P running downhill, should we be copying his technique?!
Would def recommend this race, fantastic scenery, great course and fab sarnies at the end.