I have never missed this event, the inaugural race marked my return to running after 16 years, it has also been my 'traditional' first race of the year since that time. Consequently I have formed a sentimental bond with the event and always look forward to it. This year was no exception despite exceptional circumstances.
The year did not start well, a tendon injury has kept me from running since the end of January. This was to have been the first year that my event calendar did not begin with the Mow Cop race, but I had to scratch from three earlier events. I made a few trial excursions the week before last and although the leg was not pain free, running did not seem to make it much worse. I put in a very short 'long run' of 13 miles last Sunday, rested on Monday and resumed training in earnest on Tuesday. Getting back on my event schedule leaves me no time to hang around (Brecon 40 miler next month) so some serious back to back running is called for, this meant putting in 25 miles the day before Mow Cop. This is not how I would have chosen to prepare for the event.
Sunday was a cold and bright morning as it has been every year, though the scattered snow drifts were a new feature. A hundred runners gathered at the start line at Mount Pleasant Village Hall, after a brief reminder to be; courteous to other RoW users, careful on the road section and wary of persistent ice, we were away.
Few bother to start very fast in this event as the short, steep climb to the playing fields leads to a very early bottleneck. I started to get a move on after this having forgotten that an early stile makes that pretty pointless too. The stile cleared we were on our way up to the quarry under the 'castle'. Though narrow paths and steps create squeezes here, the field spreads enough to settle in.
Once out of the quarry the pace speeds up along the tops, round the 'Old Man of Mow' and along tracks until the path narrows again where the Gritstone Trail runs through woods parallel to Congleton Road.
The running through the woods is quite exhilarating, there are enough tree roots and slippery patches to demand concentration, but good progress can be made providing you do keep your head. All too soon the path meets the road, a few hundred metres of tarmac then a left turn into a field where the real filth starts.
Coarse long grass will often spread a footprint wide enough to allow you to skim over bog, here it only served to hide bits and make one's passage less predictable. Many was the squeal as a jet of filthy water hit someone where they err.. least expected it. Dirty, stinky and wet as bogs are, at least they don't tend to hitch a ride on your shoes like sticky mud. Then came the sticky mud, soon shaken off on the tarmac that followed fortunately.
Tree lined path and plank bridge followed lane and lane followed path, puffing hard but a decline fooling one that the pace could be maintained for ever. A sharp left turn, then the downhill running had to be paid for.
Track gives way to rising open fields, the wise start to take it easy here as the real climb is yet to come. As the South Cheshire Way winds into woods the way gets ever steeper and most will start to walk if they hadn't done so already (I determinedly ran the whole of this section one year, but it did not give me my best time). It is all a matter of perspective, I have climbed sections twice as steep, five times longer, in races of five times the distance, but this is a short fast race and from that viewpoint this ascent is bloomin' steep.
As soon as a stile through a stone wall puts the woods behind you it is time to get a move on. Quads and calves are begging you to stop, but you know that the horizon is real and that effort made here will be repaid amply. So power up the last bit of incline with quads screaming knowing that they will get their rest on the run when the horizon is reached. It's pretty fast easy running most of the way back.
By the time you re pass the Old Man of Mow you can really get a clip on, and the very last descent is best if you leave your brains with a friend for safekeeping. Nonetheless I was a little more circumspect than last year, knowing that a PB was not a possibility I trod more carefully and even stepped over a wire fence that I have leapt in the past.
I crossed the finish line having taken nearly ten minutes more than my best previous time (three minutes more than my worst). I felt good, felt like I had run well and given (nearly) my best. I slapped the hand of a close competitor, before heading for the drinks table (I actually jogged). Curiously I never felt tired due to the previous days exertion, I just ran slower at the same perceived effort and speed as other years.
After quenching my immediate raging thirst and seeing the prizes awarded I made my way home via the excellent Blue Bell in Hardingswood, another part of my 'tradition'. The crisp hoppy memory is still with me.
I would like to do more runs of this distance, there is something good about going like the clappers for an hour knowing that even if you do overcook things you can recover in the time it takes to walk to the car park. Unfortunately reality usually means driving for twice the time I will spend running and I find that hard to justify.
My thanks to the organisers Mow Cop Runners who are so sorted that they have the results on the web before you can get home and to racephotos for the fantastic free snaps (half of which were online by the end of Sunday and the rest by early Monday morning).
I have never studied a profile of this race, nor will I. I don't want irrelevant details like facts to colour my impression of it. My impression is of an event that is all downhill on pleasantly varied terrain with grand views across Cheshire and interesting foreground detail, though you do have to go up some hills to get to the downhill bits.
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