Christmas is never an easy time for me as it always reminds me of my Dad passing away so sometimes struggle to get in to the Christmas spirit, I guess in many ways that’s why I took up running about 4 years ago to become a better me & I’m sure he’ll be proud of my achievements. So in 2013 I decided to keep myself busy & focused over the Xmas hols by doing one of my passions in life & came across a race called the Chevin Chase I was on the start list for 2013 however I had to pull out after going base over apex backwards down two flights of stairs following a heavy night of drinking with the lads the result was a broken collarbone & scapula & a grown man crying due to not running so last year I was a good boy & only drunk double vodkas not trebles. The race did not disappoint & is most certainly one of my favourite races I’ve ran.

So 2015 entry came around in October, due to it been on the same day as Yorkshire Coast 10k & Yorkshire Marathon entries opened at 4pm so I was sat with my fingers poised on my iPad ready to enter as the race sells out pretty quickly, all 1000 places went within a couple of days. As in previous years the Alistair & Jonny Brownlee were on the start list & I was wondering how I was going to get near them at the start line due to the restraining order they has put against me after I stalked them after last years race however I had a cunning plan as I was in a different colour vest this year so was thinking they wouldn’t recognise me.

Race day:

A quiet yet really good Christmas Day was had with just a few drinks with my dinner as I wanted to be feeling fresh for the following day, the forecast wasn’t looking too good with rain predicted & strong winds forecasted but feeling quite mild. I woke up early on Boxing Day with that nervous excitement I always get on race day, the race takes place in Guiseley so set off at 8.45am which would give me plenty of time to get in the zone, i was met with a deluge of rain as I got there & the prospect of the race been cancelled due to the sheer volume of water in the roads however the race got the go ahead & I made my way to the start line the usual pre race announcements were made & they told us the Brownlee Brothers weren’t running I can only assume they were told not to run due to the tricky conditions with it been Olympic year next year. So 11am came round & we were off the first quarter of a mile is downhill so I made a fast start then the fun began the next two miles were uphill with a mixture of road & trail on the road sections the water was rushing towards us & in some places up to knee height, the next mile was just utter madness a descent on rocky roads with the water still gushing down so you had no idea of your footing I started off quite slowly as I wasn’t feeling that confident but after seeing other runners hurtle past me I joined in with the craziness, lots of runners fell over during this section but I managed to stay on my feet. The next three miles were a steady climb up to the top of the Chevin with a really steep bit just before the summit, the support on top of the Chevin is unreal & can only be described as a mini Tour de France crowd definitely spurred me on to get up & over it, the last mile is a fast descent to the finish were I finally managed to open my legs a little. My finish time of 53.22 was slightly slower than last year but conditions were a lot tougher & despite the not so favourable weather it’s still a belter of a race.

I have really enjoyed my first 8 months as Harrier & despite slipping my L5 disc back in March I have managed PB’s in 5k, 10k & Half Marathon & feel after countless visits to physio’s, chiropractors & bone setters I’m on the road to recovery so hoping for a good 2016.