The Chevin Chase is an 11k trail race that takes place on Boxing Day each year. it is notoriously hilly but not as hilly as I expected: there were clearly some flat bits in it!
The race is now split across two waves and there were around 19 Harriers in each. It rained as we waited for the start but lightened up slightly once the gun went off and we began our climb up the first long hill. With hundreds of people around it was a timid start as there was nowhere to go.
After the first three or four kilometres, it thinned out. I got to the 2k point and thought “I’m glad I weren’t for leggings and long sleeves because I’m still cold”. It wasn’t until the long climb at the 9k point that I started to get too hot.
The course was in good condition, mostly. My feet were dry until the water dip at 9k, which was then followed by some deep slippy mud. But the trails through Chevin Forest Park were very runnable. I made the decision to run through the water dip.
There was plenty of n course support including JP and Anne who took this lovely photo:
The final part is downhill with one little kick up. Luckily I had heard Lou’s warning about the kick and was prepared for it! Nobody had told James, so I managed to catch him up and we crossed the line together.
It was a beautiful race and I didn’t mind the hills. The weather was miserable. But whereas do you get the chance to catch up with so many Harriers in one spot over Christmas? Would do again.
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Tags: running
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 29th, 2022 at 11:00 am and is filed under Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.