Riverbank Rollick
Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 8:39PM "Riverbank Rollick"... Certain names of races just force you to run them. And this one was certainly worth it. Hidden in a forgotten corner between the A48, M6 and Hill lane, Thornbury is an incredibly quaint village with old cottages and churches and a 'high-street' with its fair share of real ale pubs. The eerie Midsummer Murders feel that descended upon us may have been a warning for the gruelling multi-terrain race that was awaiting us. This is one of the most varied multi-terrain races I have ever done: well looked after country lanes, mud tracks; fields (muddy and not-so-muddy ones), hills, trails, woodland, riverbank, and a golf course. Even after a (relatively) dry week, some parts of the course were surprisingly muddy... and fun...
Mark (Joyce) and I were interviewed before the race for a 'specialist internet running channel' (whatever that may be) and asked why we were doing this race (yes, why?). The second question ("are you going to win the race?") was somewhat easier to answer; although for some time I was hoping to be the first Croups to cross the finish line (something I am still aspiring to). But I temporarily forgot that hope and optimism almost always results in disappointment, and this time it wasn't any different. Mark managed to overtake me in the first couple of miles with his completely inappropriate road running shoes.
The section along the Severn was simply stunning. The underground was relatively firm and the great views of some brilliant feats of human engineering (the severn bridges) and not so brilliant ones (oldbury power station) were a welcome distraction from the arduous running. It was a short respite before the course turned inland again and two nasty hills were awaiting us. Luckily enough this also meant that the last two miles were mainly downhill -although tricky as still slippy from night frost being on the ‘wrong side’ of the hill. The finish could be seen from a long way off which motivated me to run a little bit faster. But even here optimism was proven the wrong response (again). Why let runners run directly to the finish line if you can let them wade through a stream right in front of dozens of spectators? (it was one terrain we hadn't covered yet).
Mark was waiting and looking surprisingly fresh. Not long after Dave (McDonald) crossed the line looking unsurprisingly exhausted: "where are the cakes?" were the only words he could mutter. The free cakes afterwards were as varied as the terrains. Tables and tables full of all sorts of cakes. Thornbury RC would be a worthy opponent in a head-to-head bake off with Les Croupiers RC (now, there’s an idea...).
This race is well worth doing. If you tried it once, you will never go back to road running again. I also think it would be a good race for the off-road championship next year.: more than 90% of the course is off-road, and the variation in terrain and views makes it one of the more enjoyable races in the area. An absolute must do for any self-respecting (off-road) runner who takes his/her cake eating seriously...
Reader Comments (4)
The Hogweed Hilly Half;not a million miles away from the Riverbank Rollick, is also well remembered for its scenery and groaning cake table :-)
and then there's the Durzey Dozen on the 12th February (the only race where I've eaten cake at the start..)
races should be assessed by the quality of the free cakes provided...
Definitely tempted to do it next year. Good write up Wouter - made me chuckle Thank you