Cotswold Way Relay 2022, leg 8

When not plotting a move to mainland Europe, or drinking wine, I am often found running about. Not in the sense of conducting an errand, but of attempting to improve/maintain a modicum of personal fitness.

This occasionally takes the form of a race, and last weekend was one of those occasions; it being the day of the Cotswold Way Relay, organised by Team Bath Athletic Club. My running club, Great Western Runners, is based in Bristol close by so it’s a natural event for us to do.

You may have visions of batons being passed, in a rather amateur fashion from one runner to another, but this is a point to point timed relay - no batons in sight. The times from each runner in each team for each leg of the relay are totted up at the end and winners declared.

The Cotswold Way is a 102-mile national walking trail in the South West of England, starting in Chipping Camden and ending in the city of Bath. It runs in a general north to south orientation and takes in, as you may infer, the region of England known as the Cotswolds. Basically a lot of picturesque rolling hillsides and villages.

 

I ran leg 8 this year, starting at 1500, from Wotton-under-Edge to Old Sodbury, a 12.1 mile route with quite a lot (>400m) of ascent, including a very steep slope just outside Wotton. My team mates running leg 1 started that morning at 0700, with legs starting every hour, and the last leg at 1700. The route was self-navigated and timings and controls taken using an app downloaded to your phone (MapRun6).

 

Here are some photos from the recce I did a week or so beforehand. They include some lovely highland cattle, a field of broad beans stretching as far as the eye could see, and the Somerset Monument, the name of which I always find amusing given its location in Gloucestershire. 

I ran in trail shoes rather than my standard road shoes, which whilst giving a lot more grip on muddy terrain (it had rained during week previous) meant sacrificing a lot of cushioning on the sole; so my legs were really feeling it at the end and for the next few days. It was also a requirement to run with water, so I had a backpack with a water bladder added to the mix to contend with, too.

I’m relatively used to running that distance but felt mostly terrible all the way to finish in 1hr 55 mins - about 10 mins over what I was aiming for. That said it was a lovely route, I didn’t get lost and Mrs L awaited me at the finish with a bottle of chocolate milk (an excellent recovery drink I’m told!) and a well-earned sandwich. Also good prep for a half marathon I’m running in Frome a week on Sunday.