Tring Ridgeway Run 2014

Here are my thought on yesterday's race in Tring - my 3rd time running it but the race itself has been going for 33 years. Photos to follow ..

As I sat having my breakfast porridge at the hotel, the mists were slowly clearing and I could see Incombe Hole in the distance, part of the route I would be running a bit later. Breakfast over, I collected my gear and made my way to Tring Park Cricket Club where the race is based. Arriving early (8:50am) I nabbed a good parking spot. Wandered over to race control to pick up my number – a very efficient setup and I was on my way back to the car within a minute or two. The weather was warming up a bit and there was no rain forecast – so decided to go with shorts and t-shirt and hope I would be warm enough. Did a bit of stretching, pinned my number on, paid a call of nature (toilet queues weren’t too bad) then it was time to ditch the fleece and to walk to the start in Marshcroft Lane, jogging and jumping around a bit as I did so to try and warm up a bit.

I positioned myself towards the back of the group and at 10:00am on the dot the race started.  I settled in to my own rhythm and ignored various people running past me. The first mile is flat and my split was 10:45. You cross a road and follow some narrow footpaths through woods – there was a hold-up ahead and we had to walk. There’s also a small climb to negotiate - I passed a few people who were already walking who I had seen run past me at the start. Checked my watch – mile 2 split was 11:33. You emerge from the woods, run alongside a golf course, cross a road and run through a farmyard and then the track ahead begins the first big climb. I ran about halfway up but then (like everyone around me) when it got to the steep section, decided to walk. I started running again towards the top when it flattened out – saw my family here for the first time and waved for photos. Checked my watch again – mile 3 split was 12:20 and although I was breathing hard I felt fine.

The 4^th and 5^th miles are on a broad track along the ridge through Ashridge  - I settled back into my rhythm and was passing a few people and my splits were 10:42 & 10:47. Shortly after the 5 ml point you follow a footpath then make a sharp turn at the top of Incombe Hole – this is steep at the top but flattens out gradually. I let gravity take over and felt great as we approached the 6ml point. Another check of the watch – pleased to see 10:19 being displayed. We crossed the road and I prepared myself for the next climb. Saw my family again here and waved for more photos. I was walking up Pitstone Hill when I saw my sister at the top taking photos – felt duty bound to start running again. 

By now we were running on the Ridgeway Path itself and there are rabbit holes, tree roots, steps and ramblers to keep an eye out for. My mile 7 split was 11:40 because of the earlier walk break and the terrain. I still felt good as we emerged from the woods, and followed the paths down to cross the road and start re-tracing our steps back along Marshcroft Lane. A group of 3 or 4 women behind me had thanked me for towing them along the last two miles through the woods and overtook me at this point –cheeky buggers! I tried to stay with them – checked my watch at mile 8 and the split was 10:20 so was pleased with that.

I was starting to feel tired but knew I had the chance to post a good time so kept pushing along and trying to keep up with the ‘cheeky girls’ who by now were disappearing into the distance. In the last mile I found myself running along with two other guys and we were swapping places all the time. I had started trying to speed up but they were doing the same and overtaking me. So I stayed behind them as we approached the finish together and readied myself. 

Crossing the road with 50yds to go, the marshal said “There’s a finish line just through that gate – come on, let’s see you go for it!”. We were running abreast by now and I was in the middle. As we ran through the gate I took my chance and set off between them hoping to catch them unawares. One guy fell behind but the other came alongside me. I pushed again and he did the same and I sensed him coming past me again. With a final effort I got ahead of him and beat him to the line. We were all smiles afterwards and agreed there’s nothing quite like a sprint finish. I had remembered to stop my Garmin as I crossed the line and was delighted to see a new PB of 1:43:02 (5.5 mins quicker than last year). 

Checking afterwards my split for the 9^th mile was 09:55 and 09:15 for the last 0.7 of a mile. I collected my technical t-shirt – this year it’s bright yellow and will be great for Winter training – then met up with my family to re-live the race and be told I had been looking good at 3mls, 6mls and especially in my sprint finish. Some more photos and they wanted to know if I’ll be back again next year. I certainly plan to be there - I think I can improve some more, especially on the hilly sections. And if I can get faster on the flat sections there’s less chance of being held up in the first few miles.