Tigger Tor 2013 - James Pierce

 

Race Report:

I kept one eye on the weather all week , wondering if the snow would clear or if I would even be able to get to The Tigers club for the race start . In the event, the thaw meant I could , but I still wasn't sure. A last minute decision on Sunday morning meant a mad dash to the other side of Sheffield ready for the race.
I rarely visit the Burbage area , although as a child it's somewhere I spent many happy days. I also have vivid memories of watching my dad run the same race , so all in all I was quite excited about the prospect of some winter running on such a glorious morning. That was until I got out of the car and the icy wind hit me! A brisk walk to the club to register and then the nervous pre race wait , longer than usual as there were so many entrants.
As 11.15 approached, we lined up and I decided to get myself nearer to the start of the pack, avoiding my poor placing at the Stanbury Splash the week before. After a stern warning from the race organiser about overtaking on the road , we were off!
The road dash soon gave way to the climb up onto Houndkirk Road and it then became apparent that it was going to be a challenging race. The melting snow and patches of ice gave a technical edge to the running and the strong wind made the climb hard going. Then came the descent into the valley , what should have been a path was a torrent of icy water, making maintaining a sure footing almost impossible. As we dropped down, I saw the guy in front of me plunge into a deep pool. I slowed and tried to avoid the same fate, causing the person behind to career into me , pushing me straight into the same pool, almost totally submerging me in the freezing water. I let out a few choice words and then realised how cold I was! For a split second I thought about the distance ahead , the wind and my sodden clothes and decided I would just have to keep running! The climb onto Carl walk soon warmed me up and I passed several folk who had overtaken me on the downhill. Ahead I could see fellow Penistone runner Mick Quinn and I pushed on, determined to catch him. As we dropped off  Higger Tor towards Burbage Bridge my right foot began to cramp up badly leading to a slowing hobble all the way back along the main track below the rocks, I dropped a lot of places here and felt pretty despondent , having long since lost sight of the people I had been around earlier in the race. As we hit the climb back up to Houndkirk Road cramp began to ease and I got back into my pace, glad to be nearing the end of the race. The route back in followed the route out and the hundreds of feet meant that the ground was even more slippery and treacherous and I had a few stumbles until we got onto the firmer terrain of the Houndkirk Road. I was pushing myself now and felt good until we hit the final downhill. I'm always wary on descents and as I ran down I heard a scream next to me. For a second I wondered whether to stop but for some reason I didn't ( I hope he was ok!).We hit the lane and then it was the mad sprint down the grassy field onto the main road. Overtaking here was forbidden so everyone was sprinting along. I hopped onto the grass verge and ran as fast as I could into the finish , pleased to see not too many folks and a good cheer in from Mick Quinn.
I threw on a coat and then watched the rest of the field make their way across the line, then it was down to my folks for beans on toast and a hot shower. I was cold, it had been hard, but it was a cracking race. I look forward to doing it again!