The Perch 6.25 mile multi-terrain race

Ahhhh.....there is nothing quite like the warm glow of the podium, the handshake with the race organiser and a nice crisp voucher and a tasteful bit of granite to stick on the fireplace! After finishing 5th the week before it was good to come back into form in this testing multi-terrain course that started and finished at Epsom Downs race course and get 2nd.

A terrifically hilly start saw the field almost climb onto the race course. After such a start I was surprised to see the fairly tasty first mile go past in 5.14. Even at this stage though it was clear that the race was just a two horse race, (oh dear!) with me and Eddie O'Gorman already with a huge lead over the other 600 competitors. Eddie managed to build up a steady lead all the way up until about 4 miles where a sustained attack on a long descent brought me back up to him and I briefly took the lead.

Unfortunately, there then followed a horse trail and Eddie's superior traction, (or my feeble cross-country skills!) came to show and he re-built his previous lead. Never mind, 2nd place isn't so bad for a townie with an allergy to mud!

http://www.epsomoddballs.org/perch.php

1,000 yard stare, sugarcubes at the ready



















Almost finished, super course.....despite the mud



















Always a good feeling, nice bit of marble and a voucher