Met with the tent 105 crew & other ultra mates down in Devon. All of us signed up for either the Half, Mara or Ultra CTS Devon Mara.
Also a celebration of Marg reaching her 100th day, so my 100 minute challenge from her is going to be easily surpassed today!!!
Started at 0815 in what promised to be a beautiful day! First 11miles followed the coast along the coastal path. Bit up & down in places, strong headwind & generally rough underfoot. All made worthwhile by the sunshine, blue sea & stunning scenary, not to forget excellent company I was in. After CP1 it was inland on some minor roads, muddy footpaths & fields. All was good until around mile 17 when the forecasted rains hit home! Torrential/horizontal rain, squally gale force wind, extremely slippery footpaths, steep hills & even some very stingy hail. NOT NICE!!! Still, us athletes can cope as we are not made of soap!! :D
Came in after 6.5 hrs. My Garmin read 27.2 miles, other folks read 28.5m & the organisers said it was 28.5. Well who knows & who cares - I finished in one piece, did my minimal 2 miles & the challenge of 100 mins excercise. Check out my Garmin Connect page to see the profile & route. One of the photos above is of my favourite off roaders in the bin! They had so many holes in & were so soggy I couldnt bear to bring them home!!!
Ben - we missed you loads as we had a fab weekend. Looks like we will sort another one. Also looks like Kevin (Jills other half), Zoe, John & I are all up for Comrades either next year or the year after! You in?
whichever one is the downhill one! yes I'm in. I'll start saving for it now!
ReplyDeletehugely envious about your reunion. I spent the morning making and decorating a wooden shield so Ollie can go to school as one of his favourite book characters this week! Great work on the ultra (anything more than a marathon remember!!) especially in the inclement weather. The coastal section really is beautiful into Salcombe. B
Great effort and great shots Nicky. You are definitely the winner of my challenge!
ReplyDelete