and so February came around... really quickly and that means two things - firstly it signals the end of my running for around 7 months and secondly it must mean it's Ripper time folks - my designated last run of the year for the second year in a row !The Rauceby Ripper is laid on by Sleaford Town Runners and always sells out before Christmas. It's one of those smaller popular events that once you have done one - well it's a bit moorish shall we say.
Today would see a kind wind ie none, but a light drizzle and a cold temperature of around 4 degrees. I certainly wasn't complaining as I quite like running in the rain and prefer light winds - however, the course was definately boggier than I remember and you can see from the photo the amount of mud and standing water I would need to negotiate.
Walkers start at 9.30am and the runners start at 10.30. For two years running now I have finished in 30th place, so this year I decided to be a bit more proactive at the start and get myself right near the front - this startegy seemed to work as I was able to push on the hard concrete surface in the first mile as opposed to the usual grass overtake of previous years.
I again used my trusty trail brooks and the boggy section in the second mile was competently negotiated albeit there were a couple of corners I found very sketchy !
I held good form determined not to lose any places over the wet grass down the hill to the finish, and deserved this years great medal with 24th place and a time of 1.07.09,
Running over and out - time to get testing again !
