Borders League – Kelsterton near Connah’s Quay

Apologies in advance of any typos etc; I’m currently using my £1.99 pharmacy glasses because I’ve misplaced my prescription ones somewhere between sitting and scoffing a Flinglish and going up for a shower. Should be okay if I zoom my Word to 150%.

Aside from that minor pain in the butt, I’m feeling pretty good. Feeling rather pleased with myself after this morning’s Borders Race. A happy glow that I haven’t felt in a race for a long time, because I think I did alright.

It was hosted by Deeside AAC and held by Connah’s Quay on the other side of the Dee in Wales. After yesterday’s cancelled-at-the-last-minute cross country, we were hoping there’d be enough men and women to make a full team for Pensby. We haven’t failed yet, but the uptake for this one was decidedly sluggish, so Colin, our club captain, was feeling a tad nervous. The weather, early doors, didn’t raise numbers hopes, with a low lying biting fog that iced over my windscreen.

Bitter much? I’ve never done a warm up in my padded coat before, I can tell you that.

I drove to the Pensby club carpark because none of the other Bebington contingent were playing out, and even there, barely anyone had arrived. Julie and Cath were huddled in Julie’s car availing themselves of its heated front seats. I climbed into the back and defrosted more gently. The fog was lifting as slowly as the numbers of Pensbys were arriving. In the end, the three of us headed off to Wales, while Colin drove the two other guys who’d turned up, keeping our fingers crossed that we’d see more team members at the race.

An aside: I think there is an assumption that the Borders League is tough. It’s been going since 1984, when running clubs were only associated with athletic young men, so I can see how some people might view it that way still. There will always be that friendly rivalry amongst the elites of all clubs, and that’s great. But like cross country races, this league seems to have changed its ethos to also be inclusive of runners who are not tearing off like gazelles. There’s a tail runner, so the last person is never last. Fellow Pensby, and my good buddy Ruth, was keeping that tail runner company today, and she was putting in her best effort, and came pretty close to the people in front of her. So long as people don’t walk it all, and are putting in their own best efforts, there definitely seems to be a place in this league for more types of runners than before. Ruth came out for the team and can feel smug for the rest of the day. Slightly knackered maybe, but still, smug.

The race began and finished on a lovely looking flat running track belonging to a local college. As one or two extra people started gathering in Pensby corner, I did a round of it to begin warming up, fully layered. This biting cold was hanging around for the morning. It was an unusually early 10am start, and Cath assured me that Sue wouldn’t make it as she wasn’t an early bird. But as I returned to the enclave, Sue, with her zipped up long-sleeved jacket and thick woolly hat, had appeared, alongside a few more teal-vested club members. She seemed to be the good luck charm, as by then we had enough women, well more than the minimum of four, and just about scraped enough men for their minimum of seven in a team.

My warm up, i.e. the fact that I did one and the fact that it needed to be quite active in order for me to feel my toes again, seemed to put me in good stead. I tucked in near the back because that’s where I’d been ending up recently, but fairly soon I was passing a few people. Hold it in, I thought to myself, as I’d heard there was a long hill somewhere en route. But still, my breathing seemed to be holding steady, and it was a short enough race for my legs.

The hill, or sequential hills, came in the middle, for a good mile or so. I recognised a silver-haired bearded guy in a red vest from the last Borders race. We’d met on a hill that time too. Back then, I’d just pipped Grahame because he’d needed a pit stop. This time, after a little to-ing and fro-ing on the inclines, I got ahead, and surprisingly, kept ahead of him all the way. I was helped by the fact that the second half was mainly all downhill, followed by a final flourish on the track. I even went past Cath and Colin which I haven’t done in months. My breathing was ragged by the end but I was actually able to really push myself today, and it felt good.

Note to self: my muscle’s memory is deep in the marrow of my legs, so next time I take a longish break, I need to be aware that it will take a lot of digging to reach it again. But consistency eventually will start paying off.

I really enjoyed the course today, even the hills. It was short and sharp, and very often scenic, and by the end of it, I was boiling.