by Graham Robinson
The 5th of July saw WRC’s turn to host the 4th BDL event of the summer season at Carsington Water, which looked stunning in the evening sunshine. We received a very good turnout, with just shy of 300 runners entering this very undulating, and quite technical, 7.8km race.
The dam wall section nicely accommodated the starting throng of runners, allowing for positions to settle a little before the trail narrowed approaching the Millfields carpark. Snaking through this section, flat terrain was quickly left behind. After crossing the wooden bridge, the course twisted, turned, climbed and descended throughout, as local runners know (and love?) only so well. At times the steepness of the gradients really tested lung capacity and strength upon ascent and then bravery and skill upon descent. It was great to see Dave marshaling at the turn around point, although at this point you are well aware of what you have to repeat, in reverse, to finish.
WRC runners were made up of 5 women (Bethan, Stef, Chloe, Holly and Helen) and 2 men (Steve and me) who all represented our club admirably. This was both Helen and Steve’s first BDL experiences. Steve commented,
” I had a really good time and really enjoyed representing the club in the BDL, and felt this encouraged me to run faster.”
And fast he did run, finishing first WRC runner back in an impressive debut at 77th.
It was a great event to be involved in and so nice to give something back to the local running community, all under Lewis’ expert race leadership.
Plus running with all those “home” support marshals made a welcome change and was very much appreciated. Many thanks to those who gave up running on the night to don the hi-vis.
A special mention must also go out to Peter’s marshaling. With his strategic position, right at the final climb, Peter was able to very vocally encourage runners to squeeze out that last ounce of effort to finish. It certainly helped me and I bet nobody dared walk at that point!