“I’m normally a lot better going up the hills than I am
going down them” pants the runner by my side.
I look at one of my competitors; or more accurately the
person who is sharing the pain of the Southerns with me. He’s bent double,
breathing deeply as tries to take in as much oxygen as possible and all whilst
trying to avoid falling down the slope he has so painfully climbed up. I hope
that I don’t look like I am in this much pain for only the beginning of our
second lap of this dreaded hill; and realise I am pretty much identical to his
agonising form.
We are scrambling up one of the hardest parts of the nine
mile Stanmer Park course. The climb we are on resembles some sort pathway to
Count Dracula’s castle than a cross-country race to me. I know it’s cold, as
sheets of rain are pouring down, but I am boiling; a clear sign of my exertion.
My pace is getting slower and slower, whilst my heart rate soars, and it seems
as though we are no nearer to getting to the top of this climb.
My fellow climber falls over and slips down the slope, he
has realised our worst nightmare. I ask if he is okay, he grunts as well as
nods. By now I’m already a few metres away from him, we both know that this is
still a race and I also can’t afford to lose momentum going up the steepest
part of the course. I keep trying to draw more air into my lungs and, whilst I
struggle for breath, saliva fills my mouth. My feet start to slow to what
almost feels like a walk and I spit to clear my mouth, as the top of the hill comes
into view. Unknown parts of my body start to ache as I attempt to carry on
running up the hill. I try to think about how satisfying it will be to finish
the race in one piece. Then another thought enters my head, what happens if I just pull out of the race;
I am only just recovering from an injury, no one would think any the worse of
me.
The answer to that thought lies in December 2017. My mind was on not running London, as the house move seemed to be taking
up all my time and my hamstring didn’t seem to be improving. In essence I felt
like Bill Paxton in Aliens:
