Susan heads South......

On Sunday February 12th, Susan Gallagher raced the Meon Valley Plod in Hampshire. The 21 (or so) mile race, organised by the Portsmouth Joggers takes competitors up and down the hills of the South Downs. Susan survived to report on the race.....

The conditions on race day were less than ideal with temperatures well below freezing in the previous week resulting in the course being covered in a thick layer of ice and frozen mud. The race is very popular with local runners and embraces a fun atmosphere at the start and throughout the course with the, often remotely placed, marshalls offering selections of cake and cups of tea at water stations as well as much needed words of encouragement to the 255 runners tackling the course.

The race snakes up and over the many hills in the Meon Valley and includes Butser Hill at 889 feet which is a challenging ascent after 17 miles of running, and more so with the icy underfoot conditions on Sunday. As the day progressed the mud softened and created a thick, clarty layer of mud that stuck to trail shoes like glue making the hill ascents and descents very tricky but also lots of fun!

Having run the race for 4 consecutive years, Susan used the race this year as a test of fitness and stamina for upcoming ultra training and subsequently ran it steady and strong, feeling comfortable throughout, finishing in 3 hours 55 minutes.