This is not part of my official walk but having gained in fitness over the last year I thought I would also try running. In a moment of confidence I entered the Dalby Dash - a 10K race in Dalby Forest near Pickering in Yorkshire. That was six weeks ago - I began training in ernest, running along the cliff paths in an effort to get some hill work in, I even went to the gym a few times to do a bit of weight training! As the training increased my confidence decreased and I even took a week off, but after shopping for a new pair of trail running shoes I felt much better. So last Sunday we got up at six am to drive down to Yorkshire, the weather was crisp and clear - just 4 deg, I spent the journey drinking coffee for the caffeine and eating bananas and Jelly babies. The race began at 11.02 after the 2 minutes silence, and took a tarmac road up through the forest, after about 3K we turned off along a forest track and then turned downhill for another 3K, the final stretch brought us back along the river valley to the carpark.
The last 2K was really hard work but I managed to put in a final effort for the last few metres and finished in 58 minutes.
The race entry fee raised funds for Pickering Rotary club and Help for Heroes. It was great fun and I was so pleased to have done it in under an hour.
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