It's usually motorbikes or fast cars that are found on a racetrack, but not this time! A proper winters morning greeted Neil Goodwin, Rob Buswell and Georgina Lidgard as they headed into Norfolk to take part in the Snetterton 5k & 10k. Held on the racetrack itself the fast surface and traffic free environment let the runners concentrate on doing their best. Neil was having his first 10k run, and only his third run back from being hit by flu just before Christmas. His aim was to keep going and get round as he starts to build up his strength once again. He was thrilled to cross the line in 56.58. “I’m absolutely delighted,” said Neil. “They were great conditions. The first kilometre was pretty quick, but it is downhill. The course is something totally different – it wasn’t too windy, just a bit cold but it was really enjoyable.”
Rob and Georgina tackled the 5k which was one whole circuit of the racetrack. Rob had a solid run continuing his comeback and finished in 25.22 with no problems reported and Georgina who was having her first official run in the BCR colours managed a PB coming home in 30.34. “What a fantastic run, I really enjoyed that!” said Georgina. “That sub 30 minutes 5k is within reach now, I'm buzzing!”
With music playing and hot food and drinks throughout the morning the event had a great atmosphere and is starting to get popular. The racetrack hosts the next 10k and 5k runs later in the year and the Boston runners are looking forward to making the journey down once again.
Sunday saw the 34th running of Tigger Tor (so named as the route starts from Tigers RUFC and includes ascent of Higger Tor) in the hills off Hathersage Road near Sheffield. The race starts and finishes outside the rugby clubhouse, which, on race day, always has a great atmosphere with pre- and post-race refreshments available. Set in a beautiful winter landscape, for many runners this is a challenging and enjoyable curtain raiser to the Fell Running season. Most of the route is within a Site of Special Scientific Interest and formal consent for any large event had to be obtained from Natural England. The area around the Ox Stones and the paths that lead to them were out of bounds due to the environmental impact caused by other users. Checkpoints were marked on the race route map which all runners carried along with a compass and had to be visited in numerical sequence. Competitors had to find their own way to each checkpoint without external assistance. Marshals will do no more than indicate the general direction in which they should proceed on leaving a checkpoint. John Burton had done this run a few years ago and went this year with fellow Bostonian Tanya Knight – her first Fell race.
All runners had a pre race kit check before the start to make sure they had survival clothing packed should the weather suddenly change. The 9.7mile route had a total climb of nearly 1600ft. John and Tanya had a good run and finished the course with a clear round having navigated through all the checkpoints correctly and finished in a time of 2hr 8min. Tanya really enjoyed her first taste of Fell Running. “Tigger Tor was amazing!”, she said. “We managed a clear round with lots of laughs. I’m sure there was more tripping and flying than running, it was totally different to road running, but what an experience. Stunning scenery with a bit of snow in the gullies and extremely windy on top of the Tors. Oh and plenty of mud! A great day out”
