Day 2 of the Welsh Castles relay starts early as always and for some earlier than anticipated! For me on the other hand I slept soundly in my nice quite tent. The first leg starts at 7:00 am, so most people are up and about by 5:30 am prepping either themselves or the logistics for the day. My duties for the day were to deliver 3 athletes to the start of their legs and pick up 2 who have finished, provide water and support to the runners and also run my leg. With a bit of thought on how best to accomplish this before we set off all drama's were avoided and it all went to plan. Damien was wished well for the first leg of the day and then Alun was deliver in plenty of time so he could warm up, Fi was allowed time to get settled before her leg and the rest of the bus was feed. The spontaneous water stops were provided along the way and we cheered on al the runners. When we reached the bottom of Drovers we gave Dave Wintle our full support and then headed up the mountain, only to realise that the leg had been cut short due to an impromptu rave where the finish should be! Therefore we didn't see Dave finish as we needed to move on to the start of my leg.
My leg (16 out of 20) was the mountain stage from Brecon to Brecon reservoir which entails a 1000ft of ascent over the 8.8 miles. Now even though I am happy to run hills this was a real test. This is the last mountain stage of the relay and clubs challenging for the Kings and Queens of the mountain title put out some of their best runners. One particular runner Martin Rees is worth a mention, not only did he win the leg, he broke the course record and beat me by 10 minutes. At 42 I had been living with the fact that the race times, over time would progressively get slower, however Martin has shown me the way. Martin is 60 years of age and now holds various world records for distances run by a 60 year old. he recently set the 5K world record at 16.17 along with the 10K record in the Bristol 10K at 32.54. There is still hope!
It was a pleasure (sort of) to run with athletes of this calibre from clubs all over the country and I very pleased with my 24th place from a field of 61 in 60.23. This was brought home to me when someone asked how the challenge was going and I must say that I had almost forgotten I was on it and that 160 days had been covered. When I look at my result in this context, I am over the moon.
After my finish and while waiting for my fun bus, it was fascinating to watch the logistical nightmare that is the moving of 1220 athletes from Caernarfon to Cardiff drive right by me. After being picked up and cursing runners of a smaller build (for a bit) the driving duties were restored at Caerphilly Castle where we waved Dave Honeywill on his way for the last leg heading to Cardiff castle. With the relay complete and the castle grounds full of teams we exchanged stories with friends laughed a bit more and then after the presentations headed home. So not top glories for GWR this year, but that not the main reasons to take part in the relay, it is all about the journey with friends old and new. Well done to one and all that took part and made this weekend very special. Lets hope we get in next year.
www.justgiving.com/kevin-caple
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