Standish Hall Trail Race is the first Grand Prix race of 2016 for Red Rose and as a result, as always with club races, there was a large Red Rose turnout,
The course itself has no tarmac, with a start and finish on rough country roads.
After completing the top loop and splashng through a load of flooded potholes I couldn’t have been much wetter. A lot of that was due to running alongside John Wiseman because the 12 year old in him was having too much fun jumping in the deepest bits.
The bottom loop is mainly through woods and on single track paths, some of which was very deep in mud but the consistency was mainly like porridge which stuck to my legs but not my shoes so at least it didn’t feel like I was running in wellies. The single track part meant that you weren’t going to get past anyone but also it was difficult to see what the surface was like and a couple of people went over on this section. Thankfully the landing was soft though and no one was injured.
The top loop in the opposite direction was followed by the bottom loop again and then back to the start/finish line.
I really enjoyed this race. The conditions made some sections quite challenging but very interesting and as always a good Red Rose turnout meant that there was always a red vest in sight.
Great support at the finish as well for the entire team, but I was glad to get back in the car and start to warm up.