Racing the elements

Despite this country's reputation for being constantly wet & miserable, in the 1,250 odd races that I've competed in very few stand out for reasons of particularly inclement weather.  I've done a few marathons where it rained heavily from start to finish: the first London in 1981, Rotterdam the same year and New York in 1983.  Of course there have been some memorable cross country races: many will remember the National quagmires at Milton Keynes (1985) and Nonsuch Park, Sutton (1989), the latter being so close to home I could jog to and from it, although I wasn't let in the house until I was hosed down, such was my state.  Before health & safety became an issue, races were not cancelled due to snow with the consequence that I have many fun memories of dragging my pins through the drifting white stuff: Wimbledon Common in one of my first ever school races in 1968; the Southern in a blizzard at Stanmer Park, Brighton in 1986 and a mob match victory (hand in hand with my flatmate and best man, Simon Collingridge) on Blackheath's tough course at Hayes in Kent (1985).  At the other end of the spectrum, heatwave conditions prevailed in my Isle of Wight Marathon victory in 1985; the inter-counties 20 miler at Wimbledon in 1983 where I was part of Surrey's winning team of three (ran well that day!); and in many of my foreign forays, particularly to Barbados.

A classic from the Oxford League

Inclement weather or not, I'm always falling over, whether it be slipping in mud, tripping over a twig thanks to my supreme economical running style or bashing my elbow against a lampost or my head on a low hanging branch ...

So what have been the worst conditions in which I've raced?  This question came up last week as we tried to stay upright in storm force winds and lashing, icy rain just before the start of the Highworth '5'.  It had tipped down all night so the roads were flooded as well.  Despite all that it was actually quite an exhilarating race for the runners (although a nightmare for organisers and marshals whom I salute): we faced the worst of the conditions in the first half, initially straight into the wind and then being hit by strong gusts from the side, which invariably pushed me into the deepest puddles.  The second half, which included the notorious climb back into the village, was positively pleasant with the wind helping us along.  I pushed too hard in the first half, mainly because I felt the need for some protection from the elements from within a group, and thus paid the price as I faded in the last couple of miles, but a decent enough effort.  Paid the price for venturing out by going down with my first cold in three years the day after the race.

The worst ever conditions?  Think I'd have to say a fairly recent race, the Gloucester '20' in 2009.  The weather changed violently at about halfway with painful hail, incredibly strong winds and driving rain sometimes making forward motion almost impossible.  A couple of runs on the Pennine Way relay run it close, up on the wild Cheviots and on Cross Fell, the highest point on the route, in the pitch darkness of night in lashing rain and with just a head torch to help with navigation ... but that also had other non-weather issues that made it frightening ...