Brent Knoll Race 2017
The Brent Knoll race is a nice local race that is organised by my running club the Burnham Harriers. It’s very popular among the local running clubs as it’s also the final race of the annual Somerset Series.
Some of the Burnham Harriers who ran the race
Going into the race I had one eye on finishing 1st local male and picking up another trophy despite not being in my best shape. Those plans were scuppered when I was informed a young local lad called Charlie Owen was running it. Charlie is pretty quick and has the potential to be a very good runner. He often places in the top 5 at our local Parkrun and I knew I wouldn’t be beating him on this day.
So once I knew I didn’t have much of a chance of winning anything I decided to just enjoy the race and aim to improve on last years time. Charlie did make me laugh at the start line when he said he wasn’t sure how he’d do and that he hoped to keep me in his sights, ha! Well it turned out to be the other way round as he shot off and after less than a mile he was a long way ahead of me!
Tactically I got this race completely wrong on the day. I quite often make a fast and hard start, knowing I have the stamina and strength to hold on when it gets tough. On this morning, I forgot how little running I’d done in the build up and I was soon going to pay for it.
Action shot!
The route is an out and back course, starting and finishing at the local rugby and cricket club and takes you through fields, an orchard and then up and around the top of the Knoll itself before coming back down on the other side and linking back up to the route leading up to it.
By the time we were at the foot of the Knoll I knew I was in trouble. I checked my HR on my watch and sure enough I was already in the red. I felt awful and wanted to stop. That obviously wasn’t going to happen but I was glad to start the climb because as soon as it got steep I had a reason to walk haha!
The horrible climb up the orchard
Once at the top it was cold and windy and I was soon able to do what I love best, descend the hill! Personally I think there’s a bit of an art to descending hills, a bit like in cycling, if you’re prepared to go all out and put your faith in your ability to keep your footing then you can pick up some great speed and the thrill of it is awesome! The initial descent isn’t for very long as most of it is then quite gradual but the descent by the orchard is epic. It was on this descent last year that I lost my footing, slid down 10ft on my bum then regained my footing with the momentum causing me to almost sprint down the rest of it! Thankfully this year I was little bit more controlled to start with then let myself fly down the rest.
Getting my wings out ready to fly!
After that its a flat run back to the start/finish and I had a Wells Harrier running with me. We took it in turns going past each other then less than half a mile out I went for it. I blew past him and soon realised I’d gone too early! I had nothing left when he went past me just before the final corner and my half hearted sprint finish was all in vein as I couldn’t catch him.
A strong(ish) finish
Like I said at the start, my tactics were wrong and my fitness wasn’t there but I enjoyed it and by finishing in 23rd with a time of 45.47mins I was still 10 places higher up the field and nearly 3mins quicker than last year.
In summary, if you like hills, mud and a friendly atmosphere then this race is definitely for you! Its also a good distance with it advertised as “about” 5.75 miles but my Garmin measured it as 5.92 so great for people looking for the 10k kind of distance.
