Leg 9, Paxford to Crimscote (10.0 miles) - Stuart Keen
The weekend of 18th & 19th of June saw a big change in the weather with
temperatures soaring into the 30's.
I had asked to be put on a later leg so that I could watch Diane run the
Coventry fun run that morning, go home for a bite to eat (and plenty to
drink) before driving to the start of my leg. We got there by 2.30 which
was ample time. If all was going well then I should be expecting to see
Northbrook at the changeover by 3.00-3.30. At 3.00 I phoned Nathan to find
out how we were doing and he said that we were halfway through leg 7 - and
I was leg 9, so things weren't going too well, but then he did say we were
in third place and all the other clubs were struggling with the heat as
well... By 4.15 our leg 8 runner, Rich Ansell, came round the corner, in
second place now, handed the baton over to me, and I was off!
I felt fine to begin with, well hydrated, and Leamington were about a
minute behind me, but then about 3 miles in as I started to climb Ebrington
Hill my legs turned to lead. The heat was sapping just about everything out
of me. This hill was over 2 miles long and the highest point on the whole
course (which I only found out afterwards) and the downhill through Larkstoke
was even steeper, which was painful. The run turned to a jog and I was
overtaken by Leamington. I had put Northbrook back in third place and even
though my route was only slightly undulating for the rest of the way my
willpower was fading fast. It was just open fields either side of me, there
was no shade to run in and I felt like a cripple. I must admit there were
sections where I walked, heaven forbid, but there was nothing there. My legs
were empty! I felt so bad that I had undone all of Richard's hard work by
putting us back a position.
My club mates were excellent though. Those that weren't running and those that
had already run were in cars to make sure we were going the right way (and not
collapsing in hedgerows) and were handing out water every mile. I didn't turn
it down! I finally finished leg 9 in over 70 minutes, my slowest 10 miles ever,
and handed over to Nathan, but as Kenilworth Runners were leading by 20 minutes
and followed by Leamington, it seemed the best we could hope for was third place.
Diane and I didn't have time to stay for presentations as we had to get to
Warwick where we were meeting our parents in a pub for Father's Day drinks
and where I re-hydrated with a few very much needed pints of Bass. (Diane
was driving home!) Thanks to all those supporters in cars who were supplying
much needed water and encouragement, I don't think we could have done it
without you.
Stuart Keen.
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I had asked to be put on a later leg so that I could watch Diane run the
Coventry fun run that morning, go home for a bite to eat (and plenty to
drink) before driving to the start of my leg. We got there by 2.30 which
was ample time. If all was going well then I should be expecting to see
Northbrook at the changeover by 3.00-3.30. At 3.00 I phoned Nathan to find
out how we were doing and he said that we were halfway through leg 7 - and
I was leg 9, so things weren't going too well, but then he did say we were
in third place and all the other clubs were struggling with the heat as
well... By 4.15 our leg 8 runner, Rich Ansell, came round the corner, in
second place now, handed the baton over to me, and I was off!
