The hope for better weather for the Dirty Dash – the last event
of the Midland Off Road Series duathlon and accompanying 10K runs – were well
and truly scuppered with the perfectly-timed arrival of freezing, wet and
dispiritingly grey conditions; complete with an early-morning smatter of
totally unpredicted slushy snow.
The National Watersports Centre near Nottingham was the
venue and Both Mick W and Rosie Wigg report that the normal pre-race buzz of
excited tension was utterly lacking: replaced instead by a general air of competitor
bewilderment and a definite collective sense of ‘what an earth am I doing
here?’
Competitors were right to fear the conditions. It was
absolutely freezing cold, wet, incredibly muddy and, as events progressed,
carved up into something akin to an assault course. Fingers and feet simply
could not be felt and slips, falls and bike crashes were a quickly-normalised
part of the routine.
Nonetheless, both Go Veggies braved the day well with Rose
managing top third of the field finishes both overall and in age group in the
10K run whilst Mick – putting in his usual strong bike leg plus a very well
paced second run – slogged to a 3/26 position in age category and 25/189
overall in the duathlon.
Mick’s consistency also meant he secured a 3rd
position in the three-round-series overall.
