Pontypridd Reverse 10 21.2.10 Posted by Carl

There was some speculation as to how monotonous this race would be as reports from previous years had not been great, however, having now finished the race I can definitely recommend it to those Hotfooters who prefer to run on roads rather than off. It was certainly a good training run in preparation for the Forest of Dean half marathon on Mar 28. The route itself consisted of 2 thirds road and a third Taff Trail (this was mostly firm underfoot but with several long stretches of mud and surface water). In all there were 3 short climbs which did not stop making this 10 miler a very good PB race, which as it turned out was the case for me with a time of 1:02:26 (David finished in 1:09:48 with Ashleys TBC). The marshaling of the race was exceptional as it was a fairly complex route. The conditions to start were drizzly and very cold, so much so my black compression socks were white with frost by the time I crossed the finish line. David decided to wear polar ice cap standard gloves. Sadly David's jumper with more holes than actual wool will not be seen again as this was left at the start (800m from registration and the finish). Shaun's decision to attend his daughter's wedding rather than looking after us at the start and finish of a race was a topic of much discussion during or post race debrief. The goodie bag was really quite good as it contained amongst other things, several carb/isotonic gels care of Moti Triathlon, Cardiff – Moti is next on my list of prospective sponsors for tthe Magic Roundabout in June. However, before all of the above could happen there were lots of other wee things worth highlighting. To start with there were several days of indecision regarding the race being on or off. First it was on, then off, then on, then off. Alas this was simply David deciding on whether he was actually running or not and not the event being cancelled. David eventually informed me of his intent to run by email at 7AM on the morning of the race (we were leaving at 7.50AM and David was driving). David should come with a Caveat Emptor tag! The strategy for attaining my 10 mile race PB was simple and is as follows (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!); get food poisoning the week before (I did), lose 3lbs involuntary in 36hrs (I did), go to work instead of the doctors and bed (I did), feel dreadful the morning of the race (I did), stay in bed and don't even think about getting up and running 10 miles (I didn’t). The drive home was quite spectacular through the Brecon Beacons as it was a lovely day with Pen y Fan looking resplendent with the Sun shining behind . . . (oops I have drifted back to my Oscar speeches of 2009!) Once back in Hay David and Ashley were sent on their way with a bottle of wine each (Ashley for driving and David for being 59 today - Happy Birthday David and lookout the V60 category runners for next year. Though if I know David he will be spending his birthday analyzing JUST WHY he was 7 minutes behind me – have a glass of my wine andd let it go David just let it go (not the wine but your race time!) My post race treat this week was some fantastic soup at the Three Tuns, Hay as from last Sundays experience I felt I ought to keep it simple. My tummy is okay at the moment.