Ascott 10k Report by Adrian Pinnock
Race Report: Ascot-under-Wychwood Multi-Terrain 10K
The race is set in a picturesque village in the Evenlode Valley, organised by a band of very dedicated people who put on a well organised event to raise money for their local village charities.
As we arrived at the venue the car park marshal indicated to Kate to park anywhere under the oak tree, so it set the tone for a relaxed event.
As we listened to the Race Directors instructions, Mark Creasey commented how typical it was of a quintessential English Village of a bygone age, with the talk drowned out by the sound of a Vintage Biplane engine circling overhead.
After an horrendous rain soaked Saturday, when the race organisers nearly called if off, the Sunday morning was a glorious autumnal day with bright blue sky.
There were 2 race distances (5k and 10K), although the Club Championship was the 10K, due to flooding a late course change for the 5K had been necessary.
We set off along a tarmac section for a short way before crossing a slippery bridge where you were advised to walk before you started the ascent up towards the main A3061 road. Once running along the top field there were fantastic views of the valley below. On the way back they even provided in one field a knee deep shoe wash.
The race took me back 35 years or more when running en masse wasn’t the norm as it is today, like the first race I did from the Newlands Inn in Eynsham in the 1980s and the Great North Run in 1989 with only 9/10,000 participants (now 57,000)!
It is great that people are out there running but this race was more enjoyable as there weren’t the mass of runners so you had space to look around, reflect and take your time (as in my case).
My race number was No 8 (which in Chinese culture is the luckiest number), so although I was unlikely to win any prizes in the race, it was a pleasant surprise to find my name drawn out for the Wine.
So all in all a great race for our car passengers, Becky who was 2nd Lady overall, Jacky with 1st lady vet 55 and Kate would have won the 65+ category if there had been one.
To all you Eynsham runners who missed out on this scenic and well organised race, put it in your diaries for next year, a great training run for the Cross Country season.
