So it was that I lined up for the final club stag run of the season needing 11th place or better to lift the stag trophy (I haven't actually ascertained if a trophy exists? - Andy?) I've explained the stag format many times now so I wont go there again. (Stag Rules). Suffice to say that there were two ways I could approach this final run: 1 - go all out and lay down another PB; or 2 - take it (relatively) easy and make sure of the points needed to lift the trophy. It wasn't really ever a decision I needed to consciously make. As I toed the start line for the 5th and final time this season there was only one thing on my mind which was to record my 5th successive PB and cap a great first season with LBAC.
There was another big turn out of 25 + runners which makes scoring points that ever bit more difficult. I started about 4th from last and chased down my next opponent (Nick) who started 5 secs ahead of me. I put in a solid 1st lap but didn't feel that I was pushing as hard as the previous stag race April. On the second lap it again felt solid but I was tiring a little, and was overtaken by Joby (although my 2nd lap was not as bad as last time in terms of slow down). And the third was much more of the same. It felt comfortable and that's the stag for you really. nothing too inspiring to get the creative juices flowing but a solid 2.5 miler nevertheless at near maximum effort.
And for my efforts as I sprinted up the final straight and crossed the line gasping for breath - a 5th successive PB of 14:19. So all in all I'm really pleased with what i've achieved in terms of my improvement over the season. My five stag times below translate to a 1min 11sec improvement from my 1st stag run in November to the 5th today. Of course the gains won't be anywhere near as impressive next year! And that's the stag trophy for you. Beginners like myself seem to have the best chance of winning with their first attempt. Coming back next year and doing the same will be the real test. And for an ultra-runner I really shouldn't be recording fastest times over a 2.5m circuit!
Stag race 1 - 15:29
Stag race 2 - 15:04
Stag race 3 - 14:54
Stag race 4 - 14:31
Stag race 5 - 14:19
Official stag report - http://www.leightonbuzzardac.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=180&Itemid=32
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