On a beautiful late summer Sunday morning, nearly 300 runners set off into the sunshine as beloved Black Bank beckoned under cloudless azure skies …
As if!! In our dreams, right?
This is England, our beloved Newcastle-under-Lyme to be precise, and it was grey, chilly and pouring from start to end! But who cared? What a morning we had.
Our Newcastle (Staffs) AC hosts defied the grim weather to set a cheery tone from the outset, whizzing us through registration, letting us warm up on their fine track, and fanning off in winter garb to smile, cheer and coax at every corner as they became utterly bedraggled. As well as the superb organisation and marshalling, a shout out too for our pacemakers who were not just clockwatchers but inspirational coaches to those around them (including yours truly who in no way would have achieved a course PB sub-42 without the help of Kieran Bedford).
Anyway, onto the race which, as the old football cliché goes, was a classic “game of two halves”: a gruelling up then an exhilarating down. The first kilometre or so was a relatively flat warm up, punctuated by shouts up front as the speedsters battled it out for a cash prize for first up Black Bank. Then onto this infamous, legendary, feared hill itself – but let’s be honest, it wasn’t really that bad, was it? Or at least, not crazily steep. Just very, very long.
I judged Black Bank way better than last year, trying not to lose sight of Kieran’s 42 minute flag ahead of me but also remembering not to overdo it and burn out early. What a joy to see the “Alsagers’ Bank” sign, turn the corner, catch that flag again and feel the downhill coming. And what a rush of adrenaline as we picked up pace heading home, boosted by the loud cheers of the 7K crew – Silverdale running club apparently, thanks guys – and hit the Whammy.
At the finish line, the heavens opened even more, rain and sweat mixing indistinguishably in the usual endorphin-fuelled post-race happy gaggle. Well done to Stoke AC’s Emma Taylor and Notts AC’s Ben Norris for their wins, and to everyone for completing the course in pretty atrocious conditions. And this was only September … !
Andy C
Photo courtesy of Bryan Dale