Early Saturday morning me (Dave) and Tony got ready to take on the Chepstow stampede. The conditions were going to be tough due to the wet weather, but optimism soon changed and 1 mile in to the race I was in second place, with Tony taking it a bit easier and pacing himself but things were looking good. Then came the challenge with hills not being my strong point second place wasn’t going to last long and two miles in I had dropped back to 10th which was still good going but the continuos hills started to take its toll and I started to drop back.
Motivation of running with the rifles for the next 2 miles helped me stay motivated when my legs wanted to give up. A mile and a half left the organiser decided to put a water obstacle the last thing I wanted to see as it was pretty cold. However the water helped my legs and I felt rejuvenated for the final push and I started to gain a few places back. Unfortunately I just missed out on a top 20 place as I was pipped on the finishing line.
Tony came in 3 minutes later and both opinions agreed this race isn’t for the faint hearted and hill training is recommended.