I’d not planned to run this race as it was only five days prior to an Ironman race I was doing in Germany, but as we were going to be driving overnight that night and most of the following day I thought it would be good to give my legs a bit of a ‘spin’ before the long car journey.

My plan was to run steady, not hard and also be very very aware of any uneven ground - the last thing I want now is a twisted ankle!

I followed my plan well and ran the 4.96m course in 34:56 - around 7 minute miling. Not bad for a cross country course in Richmond Park. As it was a handicap race and I was taking it easy I finished 49th out of 55 competing runners. In the order of speed I was a more respectable 25th fastest out of 77. The extra 22 runners were ‘guests’ - those who do not have an official Ranelagh Harriers handicap time. Only those who do (55 of us) were eligible to race and win the Coad Cup.

I was happy with the run and straight afterwards Sharon and I raced home, grabbed a bite to eat and headed off to catch a ferry from Dover to Calais…