Slog up, stagger down: Time Trial

Zoe on the run back, descending to Ashes. There is not normally any kind
of watercourse this high in the Batch.

The Time Trial is one of my favourite events of the year. Get from Little Stretton to Stiperstones as fast as you can, whichever way you like, on foot. Realistically this means crossing the Mynd and Stiperstones ridges.

This year I'd decided to run as a mixed pair with Zoe (I've done male pair and solo previously, so I've now completed the set of categories I can enter without surgical intervention). We wanted to run back too, but I knew that we could get a lift if we needed to so that didn't slow us down.

We set off up Ashes Hollow at a reasonable rate only to run into a horribly muddy patch in the second field. It was pretty wet all the way up to the road. Zoe was a bit slower than me on the steep climb so thankfully I was able to get a bit of a breather a couple of times to prepare me for the road section. Andy Davies came hiking past at a pretty rapid rate up here on his way to an excellent 65 minute time. A good choice of line led us through light and burned off heather to the fingerpost and the road.

Predictably Zoe pushed on well to the Wildmoor hairpin, where I stopped to attend to my shoelace while she climbed the short rise, knowing I could catch her on the descent. Getting back on the road we met Rachael, Leena and Giz and I had a quick chat as it was Zoe's turn to deal with shoelaces!

Just before we caught Rachael, Leena and Giz - Zoe's ready to re-lace!

Zoe pushed me very hard all the way up to Hollies Farm, where the pace slowed a bit mostly owing tot the heaviness of the ground. The bog on the corner looked horrible and I stayed on the farm track, but after that it was grim up to the nature reserve boundary. A quick bit of running up to Shepherd's Rock and we were on the descent. Zoe made a pretty good fist of it and we were able to pass Kim and her friend, stopping to help each other over the field edge and at the gate. I flew the last section to be ready to dib when Zoe finished so unfortunately Stuart never got a picture of the two of us finishing. 92 minutes and change - pretty good for a reforming roadie - Zoe's running better everytime she does an off-road event :-)