Like this:

This was meant to be a training run, with a slightly deranged plan to cycle to the start (40 good Dartmoor miles), but a poorly Millie at home forced me to take the car and arrive instead in reasonable shape, apart from a disturbed night’s sleep.

The photos on the GWFR site manage to make the course look mysteriously flat, but the route map tells the true story. Up from Meldon Reservoir over Yes Tor, High Willhays and Black Tor, much of it over very lumpy ground (‘just follow any sheeptracks you can find’ suggested the helpful man from Ironbridge Runner), 1360 feet of climbing and almost all in the first mile-and-a-bit.

This time I managed to take 1min20 off the previous women’s course record, which made me very happy, even if some people were being smug after doing their bike miles as well. And it was to lovely meet up again with Sharon Daw, who I used to run with at East Cornwall Harriers, an awesome distance athlete and tri-athlete. She hardly gets properly warmed up on a 5 mile race. That’s her in the pink t-shirt and black socks, and the skinny one in a turquoise vest and what looks like a headscarf (my lucky, all-weather-repellent cap) is me.As well as a £75 token to spend at IBR I won a very nice bottle of wine. And actually I’ve done about 75 bike miles this week so if I get in a good long recovery run tomorrow I’m still on schedule with the training plan

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