Race report by Andy K:
Over the past few weeks I seem to have been collecting scenic Cheshire venues with low visibility, and this morning was no exception. The latest stop on my tour of staying motivated and marathon ready was Tatton Park, just outside Knutsford.
The course was a two-lap, undulating road race in and around the grounds of the park. The first section runs through and around the car parks, so an early start was essential to beat the car park closing. The thick fog across the region didn’t help, but I arrived in plenty of time and even found a friendly face when Shutters appeared out of nowhere to wish me luck.
At 9am, just over 1,700 runners set off into the mist. After navigating the car park, the route passes Tatton Hall, follows an out-and-back section, then runs between the meres with a short diversion through a small wooded area. It then exits the park and follows a closed road for 3km before turning back in to finish the first loop.
I’d set off quickly and felt strong on the first lap, even setting a new fastest 10k PB of 44:30 along the way. The second lap was shorter and skipped the out-and-back, so I was hoping to push on for a good time. Thankfully, visibility had improved too, and I could at least partly see the Hall and the lakes as I passed them.
Unfortunately, as I came out of the wooded section I slipped and slightly twisted my ankle. I had to take it easy for the next few kilometres before picking up the pace again on the final stretch. In the end I was delighted to finish uninjured in 1:36:50, placing 239th out of 1,715.
This was a nice rolling, fairly fast course that I would happily run again, and next time I’m hoping to actually see a bit more of the park.
