February 2006

[Sweder]

Special thanks go to a group called 'Raceahead' - nothing to do with me, I assure you - for their thoughtful text message received at 06:32 this morning:

Ashley be ready to get damp, wrap up. It'll still be a great day Safe journey to Brighton start at 10:30 Race Warm Up at 10 See you -
Sussex Beacon

I f***ing kid you not.
As portents go this was not what I was looking for. Pre Almería Andy and I counted the positive blessings from the hotel to the start, and there were many, and we rejoiced and we did run well.

A wincing glance out of the window confirmed the race intel. Extreme dampness, wavering tree tops; wet and windy then. In itself no reason to fret - it's been wet and windy all 'season'. But todays race has two sections; a shade over 8 miles on pavements and promenades laden with wandering civvies waiting to lurch across the stream of runners as they flock towards the seafront, topped off with 5 miles of hilly cycle path and off-road mud.
My delimma? Footwear, dear reader, footwear.

As one who suffers from pavement pounding the immediate and obvious choice is the Addistars. They served well on the wet streets of southern Spain last month, and retain a smidgeon of cushion despite being well past the 300 mile mark. But the thought of emulating Shelley Rudman, sliding ingloriously face-first in the Sussex dirt on that final section . . . (shudder)

I'm fairly sure I'll go with the Sauconys. They have a hint of cushion about them being new for Christmas (though I've clocked 150 or so miles in them since then) and will eat those slippery hills for a brunch.

I’ll let you know how it goes.