Emma and seven other ladies from Ackworth Road Runners took on the beautifully set, yet extremely challenging, Coniston 15K trail race last Sunday.
Just as it says on the tin, the race takes in tracks and paths on the slopes of The Old Man of Coniston and is, in places, lung-bustingly steep. The surfaces are also predictably muddy / rocky in equal measure making every step a calculated one. Add the inevitable October-in-the-Lakes weather (it hailed at times), and it's not difficult to imagine how tough the event is.
As if not satisfied, the Ackworth ladies, en masse, assumed the event registration point was at its traditional spot only to find the organisers had most inconsiderately moved it and had the nerve to imagine any of the competitors would actually read the pre-race instructions sent out with each race package. Suffice to say the entire confused herd of Ackworth ladies had to shuffle pretty quickly, on foot, a total of an extra 5 miles to be able to register and get to the start on time. Maybe if just one of them had spent a few less seconds loafing in the tub...
In spite of it all, Emma safely negotiated the route, which has a cut-off time of 3.5 hours, in a thoroughly decent 1:48. Fun?... well she says so.
.JPG)
