Ripley Guy Fawkes 10 miler

After feeling quite apprehensive about this race, I non the less set of, little did I know how apt my hat would be , with the cool running motif on it, (the film is an absolute must if you havent seen it by the way) it was cool all right , nothing short of bloody freezing, this race has always been a challenge, throwing up some interesting conditions extreme rain one year, and this year was no different, going past the waterfall it a gust of wind was nothing short of arctic, it took me a good 3 miles to thaw my hands out, but I was pleased that I had opted for the long running leggings, especially when I saw heroic runners like Dawn running in shorts, and Jules in her vest, beyond belief these yorkshire lasses, theres me in gloves, snood over my mouth cap on top looking a complete dork, vainly trying to keep some heat in. Anyway I plodded on, telling myself its less than a half get on with it dodged the mud then at mile 5 ish the first of the hills, The Birstwith Bastard I prefer it to be called, I told myself no walking up the hills thats where you overtake walkers, by sheer persistence I did shuffle up in some sort of way but I didnt walk and was so chuffed that the visibility was so poor I couldnt see the top of the hill, so was not put of, after that slow climb the reward of the downhill stretch and the next hills didnt seem so bad, at the finish I could hear the shouts of the frozen supporters,and the club gang, willing me up that final hill, I attempted a feeble 200 sprint of all things, must have looked like a stumble, but I suprised myself and overtook 2 people on the final hill, coming home with a 10 mile pb by a minute or so to another great technical t and lots of lovely chocolate, well done everyone, finally thanks to all the great marshals, Nidd organisers, for another grueling challenge done. Thanks to guy love the boots.x