The Slaughterford 9 - 29th

I’ve said it before, and, knowing us, will probably say it again…it seemed like a good idea at the time!

Sunday morning saw Nathan out of the house bright and early at 8am to pick up his number and timing chip for his morning’s activity, a ‘fun filled 9 mile cross country jog’ with a few hundred of his closest friends, AKA the Slaughterford 9. 

As it was a rather bleak morning – picture thick fog and temperatures just above freezing, Nathan came home after registration to stave off hyperthermia.  By 9:30 there was no avoiding the inevitable cold so we, his loving supportive family, rugged up and drove him to the start of the race.  Actually we left him at the football club being used as HQ and made our way on foot the half-mile distance to the actual race start.  Nathan would get to do this in an en-masse jog with all the other running sadists.

 This photo was taken about 50 meters from the clubhouse – not that you would know

 And here they come

 We managed to pick Nathan out of the crowd (the bright orange top helped) before they took position at the starting line

Right on 10am the starter’s gun was fired and they were off.  What would greet him this morning, well, you cannot say he wasn’t warned:

Mile 1:

The race starts with a nice easy downhill run on a single-track paved road. The only hazard you're likely to encounter here is if the farmer has chosen to attend church this morning and doesn’t see you on the road.  Oh, and the hundreds of other runners charging down immediately in front of and behind you.  The road eventually becomes a farm track before turning into the woods of the Hartham Estate.

 The kids and I followed the runners down this first mile and they had a fantastic time playing in the mud.  Unfortunately, it was so foggy that the usual views across the valley back towards Bath were not to be seen today.

 Mile 2:

The path has now become a forest track through the dark woods.  The course turns right down a steep gully.  The path is littered with rocks, mud, leaves, fallen branches, and fallen athletes; so twisted ankles are a distinct possibility.  Take great care.  The early runners should have startled the pheasants and deer away, so all you've got to worry about is the terrain.  Oh and the uphill bit once you've crossed the stream at the bottom.  Follow up the hill, bending to the left.

Respite is in sight at the top, as you turn to the right and leave Hartham.  At the junction with Weavern Lane, turn left and head down into the By Brook valley.  The path becomes progressively steeper, and there is some old tarmac towards the bottom, which can be very slippery.

Mile 3:

Weavern Lane turns sharp right, and ahead of you lies a mile of mud.  This part of the lane is sheltered by trees, so gets no sun or wind to dry it out.  In January it is a quagmire.  In fact, it is a quagmire for 51 weeks in a year.  There are two ways to cope with this; you can mince your way along the edges, hanging onto trees to stop getting wet, or you can just plough straight through the middle of the mud.  Bear in mind that the former option will result in you getting hopelessly muddy anyway, so you may as take option 2 and go for it!

Mile 4:

Weavern Lane ends eventually, and turns left into the hamlet of Slaughterford.  After the gloom of Weavern Lane, hopefully the sun will be shining (but probably not).  Follow the By Brook along a footpath to a footbridge.  It is quite feasible that the path and or the bridge will be under water at this time of year, so it's an opportunity to cool your feet.

Having crossed the brook, head across the meadow to a stile.  You may have noticed that the last 4 miles have been downhill.  In fact you have descended from 141m to 60m, a loss of 80m.  It's time to pay something back.  So, cross the stile and head up the hill, crossing to run between a line of hedges.  Run down into the dip, though the gate to the start of the first serious hill.

The traditional way up this hill is to hang onto coppiced trees to pull yourself up.  The trees sometimes may be cut back, so it will be even harder than usual.  The path levels out eventually, and brings you into Hall Farm.

 I guess it would have been at about this time that the kids discovered a fantastic bog located at the bottom of a steep hill (Nathan would see this later in the race!)

 Mile 5:

From Hall Farm you've got a bit of downhill to come.  Hazards include cattle in the field and yet more mud.  Follow the track through the gate, up the hill and turn south onto the road.  It is now lovely smooth tarmac, for nearly a kilometer.  Make the most of it.

Reaching Thickwood, head straight onto the footpath heading towards Euridge.  This is a nice flat-ish bit across the field.

 Abbey was not too keen on the slog back up the hill

Mile 6:

Cross three fields, following the well-worn muddy footpath to Euridge Farm.  At the farm, turn right through the farmyard and down the hill towards the fence.  There's a stile there somewhere- probably just in front of the pile of runners who have failed to stop without use of the aforementioned stile.

In the distance (assuming you are not blanketed in fog) you'll see the village of Colerne with its church and water tower.  The good news is that you do NOT have to go all the way up there.  The bad news is that you have to go most of the way up there.

Hop over the stile and turn to your left. More muddy track down to a stream.  At the stream, cross over to the right, over the stile and head up the hill towards Colerne.  If it has been raining heavily, this path will resemble a torrent.

 After some serious bog time, a warming hot chocolate was just the ticket – sorry Nathan, we did think of you out there….somewhere!

 Mile 7:

Continue along the woodland path towards Colerne.  At the end of the path, the course turns left down the lane for a couple of hundred metres to a stile.

Right, take a moment to stand on the top step of the stile. Ahead of you is a fast straight downhill across a meadow.  You're heading for the gate behind the big tree.  You may notice the hill up to the right. The finish is up there somewhere.

Mile 8:

Keep heading towards the gate, then keep on pretty well the same line to a footbridge hidden in the dip.  Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control (the fact that the course-setter is a sadist), the bridge is not to be used, and you have to make your way along the stream for 100m or so.

Climb up out of the stream and up the hill to the steps.  At the top of the steps, follow along the side of a field, then turn right down a bridleway.  Run down the hill, bear left onto a steep bank down to the farmhouse in valley. Cross the stream, then enjoy your close-up view of the Sting in the tail.

Yup, you've got to go up there. It's a climb of 50m in about 200m. Just what you need right now!

Mile 9:

When (it's not if, come on, you've got this far), take a moment to look back. You get a great view of the last mile and a half.

Having got to the top of the hill, cross the stile, head right up the footpath and back onto the road.  The A4 in the distance shows that the finish can't be far away.

 It was in the 9^th mile that Nathan came into view on his final muddy up hill slog – must say he was not the only runner looking none too impressed by this point!

 Zac proved a great cheer squad for all the runners – you can just see how pleased Nathan was to see him!

 On the final (slightly uphill) leg of the race the kids ran along side their father cheering him on.

In a starting field of 371 runners, Nathan came in number 298 in an amazing time of 01:35:41!  We were so proud of him and I dare say he may well be proud of himself when he has the energy for it!

Not one to rest on his laurels, young Nathan backed up his 9 mile slog with a PT test at work (which was purely voluntary) the following day managing to complete the 1.5 mile run in 10:36 – not bad for a man pushing 40!!