Tortoise & Hare Mixed Relay Race 28/12/08
Tortoises on your marks...Another superb Fife AC race. This time in the woods near Giffordtown. A very cold day for hanging about so extra thanks to the organisers and marshals.
The race was an unusual one and more fun because of it. A "tortoise" and "hare" made a team of two and each runner did two laps of the 1.75 mile course round the outskirts of the woods, alternating tortoise and hare. The tortoises started this year.
Ideal running
I was wondering why there were letterboxes in the woods
but they were for posting your doggy's "christmas cards"
Having looked at the times from last years event I realised we were in a strong position and sure enough Mary (tortoise) was among the front runners of her group. She came in 5th (of about 40 couples) taking just over 12 minutes. Having this time to anticipate the run, I then set off at a sprint hoping to catch the four hares ahead. The course went straight for a while then turned up a slight rise before skirting round the top of the woods and descending to the bottom. We then had a long back straight before returning to the start / finish past some parked cars and the last hundred yards sprint to set off the tortoises on their second lap. I had been unable to catch anybody but didn't lose any places either. Just over 10 minutes.
I also felt completely bushed and was very glad of the 12 minutes recovery before I watched Mary hurtle (unturtle-like) towards the line. She had been overtaken by a guy who ran a much quicker second lap but I felt I should be able to catch his partner who set off about 30 seconds ahead of me.
First team
Second team - a spirited performance but one second short.I set off steadily rather than try to catch him in the first couple of hundred yards. Going up the rise he hadn't weakened and I thought it might take until the long bottom straight before I caught up. However the distance between us remained frustratingly similar and I realised with growing despair that I wasn't going to catch him. We started going past tortoises from the previous lap and I tried to say well done to them despite being really challenged. (I actually ran the second lap quicker than the first.) I think I made about 5 seconds on the guy ahead but it was a long way short of catching him. I imagined the prize list not going beyond the first five and crossed the line drained and deflated. Mary and I had indeed managed to break the winning time from last year but alas so had 5 other teams - curiously there seemed to be a lack of tortoises in those teams. In fact the winner (by about a second) was last year's winner Sarah Legge though running with a different partner from last year, who must have been a genetically modified tortoise as he ran faster than his hare.
Of course it is tempting to return with a ringer for a tortoise (Ben wearing a skirt and mascara?) but the spirit of the day was a family fun day out with many mums and sons, dads and daughters taking part for the glory of zooming round the woods for a couple of miles and having a laugh.
I can say this because the prize list didn't end at fifth place. There were 10 carrier bags of goodies awarded, and we went home with one: a delightfuly eccentric mix of beer, Christmas Pudding, cereals and light bulbs. Another triumph of an event, well done to all concerned, and thanks for the traditional Fife tea and biscuits afterwards. Highly recommended.
Report and photos pb
It was so cold and dark the camera was having a great deal of trouble and packed in more than once.
Results here
Car Booty!
