TCR show 10K

Nobody really seemed sure if this one was going to go ahead or not but in the end it was an amended course. All tarmac and enough hills to please everyone. The race was seriously competitive compared to last year being won in 30.47 by former GB steeplechaser Adam Bowden and Team Saucony also turned up with 5 of their runners. For me, the race soon felt like it was a Torq vs. Gatorade show with me and Steve Worthington in our respective jerseys, Gatorade drink stations all over the course and having to run past the Torq RV (a huge uber-cool truck that the Torq crew tour round in) 3 times! In the end it was pretty damn close and I just managed to pinch 5th with about 300 metres to go.

Zurich Silvesterlauf

Silver medal, crazy tight city centre racing and thousands of Swiss screaming at you = possibly the most exhilarating experience ever!

Arriving in Zurich 4 days before the race and staying with relatives I spent the days before worrying about the sub-zero temperatures and what exactly to wear on race day itself. Fortunately the weather on race day was comparatively warm. The 4 lap course was fantastic, tight, hilly and cobbled streets through the centre of Zurich lined with spectators, a kind of winter Alpe D'Huez!

As expected, the first lap was crazy and after managing to stay upright I think I started the 2nd lap in around 10th place. Soon after, things begin to settle down somewhat and some of the lead group started to peel off. The last lap was a case of screaming "Achtung" and bouncing through lapped runners but I managed to get to the finishing straight in 2nd, only getting pipped for 3rd in the last dash though I managed to get 2nd in age group and 3rd overall so all in all a great result! I also managed to beat the N02 Swiss steeplechaser in the process - clearly having a bad day!

100 metres to go

This was as quiet as it got.......

Podium girls at last (x3!)