Race report by Tony:
A bit more trail run tourism for us today with the Trawden 7 mile trail race, this time only about an hour from home. The race is organised by Trawden AC and starts at the recreation ground atop a hill next to the village which lies a couple of miles south east of Colne. The first km or so consists of 1 1/2 laps round a large grass field and then it’s onto an anticlockwise route through the scenic countryside. After a short road section there’s a left turn onto a tarmac track which passes through a farmyard, and then it’s back onto grass to cross a field. Tarmac and gravel paths then take you downhill to briefly enter the village before a sustained uphill to reach a tricky stone path on an undulating moorland ridge. The uphills were a bit of a struggle in the warm and humid weather, necessitating walking the steeper sections. After passing the water station just after half way it was a left turn downhill to reach the relative cool of a shady wooded section next to Wycoller Brook. The bridge across the brook led to a public road for the relatively gentle couple of km climb back to the recreation ground. Another half lap of that bloody grass field took us to the finish line.
The run was enjoyable but Sheila Garewal and I both found the whole thing a bit harder than expected. I came in at 154th with 1:10 (6/11 M65) and Sheila at 251st with 1:26 (6/9 F65) out of a field of 277 finishers. We were up against a lot of seasoned-looking runners from local clubs though, including amazingly a couple of M80s (we did manage to beat them!). Our daughter Sarah did better with 1:03 (4/8 FS). 11.39 km with 217m elevation gain says Strava.
