Anyone who might have occasionally ambled through this highly disconnected set of blog entries might have noticed a slight omission on my part...namely how the hell did that run go?  Eh?

Soz to anyone who was expecting a swift update post event - I got caught up with a few other things like gadgets and cricket as it happens .  Anyway, you could have left me a comment if it was that important to you... 

The Garburn race was quite an eye opener as far as runs go.  It was hard in the extreme, but I did finish the race!  The course was 21km as the crow flies, but also took in a number of significant climbs en-route and so was a bit of a challenge to those of us who run on the flatter bits of the planet as a rule.

The race started in Staveley where we registered and got ready to go - it was pretty hot by the start of the race at 10:30, but I'd brought a bunch of lucozades with me, and was pretty well hydrated before we set off. 

The first stage was a zig-zag path up a steep hill...and really set the tone for the rest of the course - i.e. painful! Just after the peak of the hill was a kissing gate that we had to negotiate single file - and as I was somewhere near the rear, ended up queueing for 15 minutes or so to get through.  It was a chance to cool down after the first bit of climbing though, as I looked more like I'd been swimming than running...the gate also had the effect of splitting the pack up a bit so by the time we had reached the next stile there was little or no waiting. 

The next stage was mostly downhill and then undulating until we reached the river valley.  The promised water stop had been stolen so wasn't there - hats off to the thieves, it can't have been easy to find - anyway, having had a similar experience of stolen water stops when running the Blackpool Half a couple of years ago, I'd brought a drink bottle with me just in case.  After about 9k the second water stop was mercifully still operational, as the prelude to the climb over the Garburn Pass.

The path up to the pass was only slighly less steep than a lift shaft, so I ended up mostly walking up the whole thing - and (the shame of it) having to stop to try and recover my jelly legs about 4 times.  Still, the view from the top was absolutely magic, and at this point the course gained gravity assistance as the next 6k was downhill - some of it a little scary, but i managed to run pretty much all the way down to the last water stop. 

The killer part of the run was in the tail though - just when I thought I was on the home leg, a last climb at about 18k - bugger me that hurt - but having made it to the top it was the home leg and down to the finish line at Windermere.
I managed to finish in 2:52 - and happened to be coming into the arena just as the kids races were starting going in the opposite direction with 50 ankle biters running straight at me  

OK, so I didn't manage the required time of 2:30, but I did finish, and boy was it a great feeling of elation to get to the end.  I was dead chuffed, and I even like the t-shirt I collected for finishing.  And I wasn't last either.

I was so chuffed I had to celebrate with a beer