Yesterday in sweltering conditions pianojunior and I ran the King's Head Canter for the second time. It's a 5k point to point race between the villages of Chiddingly and East Hoathly in East Sussex. The race has a very late start time of 11am as the reward for finishing is a drink at the pub at the finish line rather than a medal! 🍺
Having looked at the forecast I was prepared for it to be hot but OMG I don't think I've ever run in heat like that let alone raced! I did a very short warm up (in hindsight too short) then positioned myself towards the back of the 200 strong field. Again in hindsight too far back for a race which isn't chip timed - took me 23 secs to get to the start line! 😕
The first km is downhill and I was going pretty well then we started the climb. It's not steep but it goes on for about a mile and a half and I knew that if I didn't slow down I may not make it round. Although there was some shade the heat was relentless but I made it to the top albeit slowly.
Last year I walked three times in the last 1500m and I was determined to run it all this year. The last km is downhill and it was a real relief to get there. Again looking back I should have pushed from further out as I had enough in my legs to run the last 400m relatively fast - I think the photo shows that I'm working quite hard for it though 😂
I crossed the line and went the other side of the barrier to see if I could see my son and his Dad who had both finished before me. I think I must have gone a funny colour because another runner asked me if I was OK. My legs felt like they were going to go from under me but I managed to grab the barrier and pull myself together!
Despite running it all I was only 20 secs faster than last year which I have to say is disappointing ☹️ Yes the conditions were tough but both my son and his Dad ran 5 and a half minutes faster than last year and unbelievably the men's course record was broken in a time of 14:58 😲
On a more positive note there is an age graded team competition for entrants from the villages. Our team consisted of me, pianojunior, his Dad and his stepmum and we managed to come 2nd 😁
I'm not sure I enjoy 5k as a distance but the Canter will always be a special race for me as after many years of spectating it was the first race I ever entered.
Happy Running Everyone 🏃🏃♀️🏃♂️
Written by
pianoteacher
Marathon
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42 Replies
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Brilliant report. I think you should be very pleased with that, doubly so under those conditions. Men are proportionally faster as well.
Thanks Flick! That's very true about the male/female thing - a 44 year old man would need to run 3 mins faster than I did to get the same age grade score.
I think I progressed so quickly pace wise when I started running that I feel I should be better than I am! Need to remind myself that I've had lots of improvements in other areas - my overall endurance is better and I can run up hills now 😁
Well run! And look how fit you are! Running in that heat must have been so very tough, pffft! You are a woman of steel! 💪 Well done to your hub and son too - how fantastic that you all run! Sadie x
Oh crikey yes. When doing my 10k race on Sunday (🥵🥵🥵), I thought the same about the GSR which isn’t until October either. I was so hot I’d have had trouble going a step further even for a million pounds (well ....... 🤔 😅)
You should all get a prize for running in that heat, well done to you and Junior, good photo of both of you, in the photo you look like like you are working quite hard, which indeed you were, once again, congratulations.
For a race which is basically just a run to a village pub the Canter attracts a stupidly fast field - first 33 finishers all under 19 mins yesterday including the first 3 ladies 😲
I pretty much always start right at the back but it's a habit I need to get out of because I think our club championship races use gun times rather than chip times. I'm not going to win anything but I'd quite like a fair reflection of what I can do xx
Thank you David! It was much cooler last year - I had to put a jumper on whilst we waited for the prize giving. Everyone was saying it was the hottest one ever so fingers crossed for better conditions next year 🤞
What a great photo, you look so determined and athletic! And then pianojunior looking super casual, like he's just out for a slow jog round the park..!
Thanks Sqkr! The days of running parkrun together are long gone - he finds me annoyingly slow. Did manage to beat him on the age grade this time out though 🥇🏃♀️🏃🤣
I thought I’d replied to this pianoteacher, it must have gone down that black hole . A huge well done for racing in that heat. You and junior (not so young as I thought) did absolutely brilliantly. A shame you didn't fancy the beer, maybe you can claim it later. 😂
Well done Marie. The August bank holiday weather and the later start make for a hot old time. This was my first organised event too in 2017. I wanted to come back but it has coincided with family holidays since.
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