Nigel French competed in The Beast.
The Beast is a Double (10 miles) or Quit (5 miles) trail race of
approximately 5 or 10 miles. The course includes steep hills, water,
mud, 32 obstacles, hills, a couple of surprises, and some water
obstacles.
The Beast takes place at Aylesford Equine X Country Course, Aylesford
Farm, Shoby, 5 miles from Melton Mowbray.
Nigel did the 10 mile race and came 67th from 184 finishers in 88:53.
He described it as "the hardest 10 miles I've ever done. For those
runners that haven't done The Beast before, give it a try. It takes
place on a horse trial course (with the horse jumps included), though
I'm sure the horses don't have to go under a cargo net or through the
tyre pit! For a boy who now lives in the fens the terrain was hard!
This is a really good race. Although may favourite race of the year so
far is still the Avalanche Avdenture Run."
The Avalanche Adventure Run is a multi-terrain 10km run set in 400
acres of Welland Valley countryside and is a test for runner's of all
abilities. Nigel finished 18th in this race on 5th Feb in 53:21.
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Having not finished in the Lima ITU Triathlon Premium Pan American Cup
in Peru the previos week, Matt Gunby made amends with a fine 4th place
finish in the Salinas ITU Triathlon Premium Pan American Cup in Ecuador
this weekend.
Matt did well to come out of the swim in the second group just 40
seconds down on the leaders. However, a superfast bike leg saw his
group catch up with the first group, 18 athletes coming into T2
together. 3 of them then ran clear, leaving Matt to come home in a very
hard fought 4th place, with a 32:16 run, that saw him finish only 34
seconds behind the winner.
4 Matthew Gunby 19:59 56:12 32:16 = 1:48:27
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Ely Duathlon.
Wendy Gooding warmed up for this Saturday's National Duathlon
Championships at Rutland Water, by winning her Age Group in the Monster
Duathlon at Ely. Distances were run 3 miles, bike 16 miles, run 3
miles.
53. Wendy Gooding 71:19 (combined first run and bike) 22:54 (2nd run)
= 1:34:13 1st in Age Group.
11 PACTRACers have entered this Saturday's National Duathlon
Championships at Rutland Water. The distances are run 6 miles, bike 26
miles and run 3 miles. 800 athletes will set off in 4 "waves" starting
at 8:20am.
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Wellingborough 15k
PACTRAC finished 14th from 57 teams at Irchester Country Park.
Results for the 15km race:
10. Steve Giles 58:59
17. Chris Brennan 60:50
18. Graham Honey 60:51.
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The Tarpley 10 and 20 mile race's were held at the village of Beyton
just outside Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk.
The 20 mile race started first, setting off at 10.30. The 10 mile race
started half an hour later, and just under an hour later the first
runners approached the finish line, with the quicker athletes competing
in the 20 mile race arriving in just under two hours and the last
coming in at just over four hours. The race is held on fairly narrow
country lanes.
Jaap had already competed in the Fenland Clarion Place to Place 21 mile
Cycle Time Trial just the day before.
16th) Jaap Flikweert 61:53
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Pilgrim's Challenge.
Chris Jenkins competed in the 2-day 66 mile Pilgrim Challenge North
Downs Way Ultra Run in early February. 238 runners started this
gruelling race of 33 miles per day with snow on the 2nd day. This was
the same weekend that the Bourne Frostbite was cancelled (the race has
only just come to my attention!).
"The Pilgrim Challenge is one of the U.K's
Toughest Multi Day Ultra Endurance
Races. Each competitor taking part is
expected to complete 66 miles of running
over 2 days of competition on The North
Down's Way. The route is a run from
Farnham to Merstham and back again.
This year the run took place on the 4th & 5th
February. Competitors set off at three
different start times of 8am, 9am and 10 am
in relation to how quick they could
complete the 33 miles a day. The fastest of
competitors completed the distance in
remarkable times, with the quickest
being just over 4 hours in icy sub zero
conditions.
Competitors spent the night in Merstham
School where they took rest and tried to re
cooperate for day 2 of the ultra.
Day 2 saw the course change over night
with a thick blanket of snow and ice
making footing very unstable. For safety
reasons all competitors were designated a
single start time of 8am. With the
conditions being tougher and legs already
tired, times were a little slower than the
previous day."
"A staggering 66 mile race along the North Downs Way National Path over
2 days of competition. The North Downs Way is by no means an easy run
in normal conditions, so when the thermometers started to drop below
minus (This was the weekend that the Bourne Frostbite was cancelled),
the winds picked up and the sky began to fill with snow the event had
taken on a whole new dimension.
7am on a bitter and cold winters morning, competitors started to gather
at Farnham, the starting line. Athletes braved the sub zero
temperatures and got their heads around the idea of completing a full
33 miles of running in these conditions. Soon all competitors were on
their way, making some very quick times indeed, probably to try and
keep their body warm in the chilling surroundings. As the day went by
so did the competitors with the North Downs Way claiming a few of its
first victims of the weekend. The majority however made it to the
finish line after conquering some of highest & steepest gradient climbs
around.
Those who needed it visited the medics and therapy tables, whilst the
others enjoyed a morale lifting talk from James Adams 'The Man Who
Conquered America' by running across it! Soon silence had engulfed the
camp as everyone had gone to sleep in preparation for the final day!
As the competitors awoke on day 2, they were greeted with a thick
blanket of snow as far as the eyes could see, most people love to see
snow however everyone who was at the Pilgrim Challenge on that morning
was cursing it. With the conditions putting the final day of the event
in jeopardy a meeting was called to discuss the plan for the day, to
the relief of most competitors the Pilgrim Challenge was to go a head
with extra safety advice tips being a focal point of the mornings
briefing! The plan was now in place to have one start time where the
whole field should set off together for safety reasons. 8 am came and
went as all competitors set out on what would be the toughest ultra
endurance race Extreme Energy has ever put on. The snow had stopped but
in its wake, it had covered the whole route, making navigation
difficult and footing unstable, with the horrible realisation that
everyone had to complete the full 33 miles back to Farnham some people
were overwhelmed and had to pull out due to safety reasons. Those
mentally tough people carried on, taking on what ever the elements and
terrain through at them.
Those who made it to the finish line were exhausted having just trudged
33 miles through thick snow and icy paths, the joy and relief was clear
to see on every ones faces. The performances throughout the field were
fantastic with every competitor respecting every effort of their fellow
runner. The atmosphere at the finish was electric!
The Overall Males winner of the weekend was Gwyn Davies with a
remarkable time 9:42:28
The Pilgrim Challenge 2012 will certainly go down as an 'Arctic'
Ultra"
25th= Chris Jenkins - day 1. 29th) 5:28:10 day 2. 27th) 6:36:08
Overall 25th=) 12:04:18.