Friday April 26th saw the latest incarnation of the Sixmilebridge 10k.
There would be sunshine they said...
There would be a flat course they said...
There would be PB's they said....
Well, with the time for kick-off rapidly approaching, we had heavy hail showers and sunshine of a sort. We got to Sixmilebridge in plenty of time, expecting that it might be busy for picking up our numbers and registration.
No such problems happened, it was well organised and all was calm which left us a little extra time for hanging around. It was too cold for hanging around, so it was back to the car, put the heater on and wait for the start time...
By the time the start time came around the sun was coming back but it was windy and cold. We made our way down to the start - about a dozen other Crusaders scattered around, some in orange shirts, some in their Ennis Track gear.
After a few words from the organisers and an introduction to the pacers we were off...
From the start it was uphill, then over the brow and downhill and flat for about 1K, then a sharp right and then a gradual climb for the next 5K, battling strong cold crosswinds. Was that a very dark looking cloud, were we about to get pelted again with hailstones? Where was the flat part? Grabbed a bottle of water from a very cold looking Cormac O'Sullivan at Kilmurray and then anther right turn..
The next 2k were downhill, which came at exactly the right time, legs getting tired at that point. Then a right turn at 8k and a slight uphill. I'd heard that that there was a hill at the end, so when I saw the sign which said "well Done, No More Hills" I wondered (hoped) whether they had got it wrong...
1K to go and this is where the final hill started. "Heartbreak Hill" spray painted in green on the road followed by "You Can Do It!", "Come On!" and "Keep Going" in quick succession. The top of the hill came out at 250 yards to go...one final burst and the finish line came up sooner than expected...
Then into the hall for a lump of cake an a hot cuppa...very welcome after a cold run...
Well done BMOH on a well organised run. A nice technical t-shirt for the finishers too. Good atmosphere in Sixmilebridge and best of all...the knowledge that some of this money goes to the Clare Crusaders clinic...most definitely a win-win
There would be sunshine they said...
There would be a flat course they said...
There would be PB's they said....
Well, with the time for kick-off rapidly approaching, we had heavy hail showers and sunshine of a sort. We got to Sixmilebridge in plenty of time, expecting that it might be busy for picking up our numbers and registration.
No such problems happened, it was well organised and all was calm which left us a little extra time for hanging around. It was too cold for hanging around, so it was back to the car, put the heater on and wait for the start time...
By the time the start time came around the sun was coming back but it was windy and cold. We made our way down to the start - about a dozen other Crusaders scattered around, some in orange shirts, some in their Ennis Track gear.
After a few words from the organisers and an introduction to the pacers we were off...
From the start it was uphill, then over the brow and downhill and flat for about 1K, then a sharp right and then a gradual climb for the next 5K, battling strong cold crosswinds. Was that a very dark looking cloud, were we about to get pelted again with hailstones? Where was the flat part? Grabbed a bottle of water from a very cold looking Cormac O'Sullivan at Kilmurray and then anther right turn..
The next 2k were downhill, which came at exactly the right time, legs getting tired at that point. Then a right turn at 8k and a slight uphill. I'd heard that that there was a hill at the end, so when I saw the sign which said "well Done, No More Hills" I wondered (hoped) whether they had got it wrong...
1K to go and this is where the final hill started. "Heartbreak Hill" spray painted in green on the road followed by "You Can Do It!", "Come On!" and "Keep Going" in quick succession. The top of the hill came out at 250 yards to go...one final burst and the finish line came up sooner than expected...
Then into the hall for a lump of cake an a hot cuppa...very welcome after a cold run...
Well done BMOH on a well organised run. A nice technical t-shirt for the finishers too. Good atmosphere in Sixmilebridge and best of all...the knowledge that some of this money goes to the Clare Crusaders clinic...most definitely a win-win