Hornton 6 Miles Report by Andy Egan
Hornton Classic 6 review by Andy Egan
An intrepid, some might say slightly mad, bunch of 11 Eynsham Roadrunners made their way to Hornton on 16 July in balmy 27C heat for the return of this 6 mile Saturday evening road race.
It soon became clear that our club had the biggest turnout and that quite a number of entrants had thought better of taking on the hilly course when the weather was doing its best to encourage people to take it easy and soak up some rays and a beer rather than soak in sweat.
The pre race entertainment featured a nice a mix of old school reggae and only a handful of our elite runners defied the temptation to chill and avoid a warm up run. The slender turnout of around 60 runners resulted in a whole flurry of club championship jokers being played before we got going.
The race itself doesn’t pull any punches from the off with most of the first mile all uphill. The undulations continue all the way round this scenic course which loops out from and back to the village and it was a relief to hit the final downhill section and finish my first Hornton 6.
Eynsham almost swept the board when it came to the prizes winning both team events thanks to Kate, Katherine and Jane for the women and Graham, Benedict and Toby for the men. Some amusement was provided by our wonder women deliberating over the small selection of wine on offer as though they were in a fancy off licence.
It was especially pleasing to see Benedict back from what must have been a so frustrating three years out with injury and finishing in a fine 6th place overall. Kate also scooped 1st lady and a majestic trophy to savour, with Katherine 1st LV55 and Kate 1st LV75, while Graham garnered the 1st MV50.
And with this being a county Grand Prix race, both teams will have made good progress up their respective leaderboards. And apparently even my rather sedate time as our 4th placed man will have counted towards our uncontested victory. So, you never know; when you sign up for a race – as well as being part of a super friendly and supportive group – you might be contributing to the club’s greater glory!
Your next chance to shine is the Hooky 6 on Sunday 7 August.
