Chiltern Chase Results
An excellent ERR turnout for a very scenic and friendly race.
First mention has to go to Ben for his magnificent victory in the 5K.
Well done also to Robert, who didn’t quite retain his title, but managed a creditable 3rd overall, and to Kate for winning another Kate award.
Larry won the wine, and his report follows the results.
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Chiltern Chase – a detective story
Three weeks after I walked off with the raffle prize of a bottle of wine, Graham has just had to remind me that the down-side of the win is the task of writing a race report. This could be very difficult, as I have forgotten most everything about the day, and am staring blankly at the computer screen wondering where the inspiration is going to come from.
Well, having checked the ERR website, I see it happened on Sunday 10 June. This has already brought back one memory – it was June’s birthday and I don’t suppose I should have been racing anyway. So, after apologising to June for the cock-up, she reminded me that she had been out all day anyway at an Oxford Gospel Choir workshop. Phew – got away with that one then!
Next key fact was that it was a 10K race, which in old money is about 6.2 miles, so for me that was quite a long distance for 2012. Let’s refer to the other ‘aide memoire’, my running database. Yes, now I’ve struck gold. It was a club Championship race, for both Long and Short Leagues. The weather was apparently bright but humid, and I got round it in 52 mins 14 secs – more than 6 minutes slower than last year, and not quite a Personal Worst over that distance. I recorded that my knees apparently did not complain during the race, but about 10 minutes afterwards, the left one seized up completely and very painfully.
Another memory jogged – we had been heading for the tea tent at the time of my medical crisis, and kind-hearted Kate made me stand still while she fetched the tea. Quite a few ERRs around I remember. According to the results there were 23 of us who enjoyed what was a majestic course scenically, with wide sweeping vistas of cornfields, meadows, and beechwoods. Robert had had strict orders from his son to win another case of Rouse’s honey, but only went home with a couple of jars this time, as he took nearly one and a half minutes longer in much better running conditions. Interestingly, the statistics on the website show that the entire bunch of runners took rather longer than last year.
Did I mention the fun run, over a 5k course very similar to the main event? Our rising young star, Ben Thomas, ran a blinder, coming in first as a Junior, with nearly a clear half minute between himself and the second runner. Hopefully, he went home with some honey after that magnificent result.
And finally, the excellent race organisers used the Racemaster software to publish the results, and one of the really interesting aspects of it is that it automatically produces a percentage score which makes allowances for age and gender. We should all be very proud that Queen Kate achieved the highest score, so on a level paying field basis, she was the day’s winner of the 10K.
Larry Poole
