Championship Round #6. Church Stretton 10K.
10/06/2023 saw CMRC’ers take on what is known as Little Switzerland. The ‘Beat the Burway’ is an ancient route with incredible views close to the Shropshire Hills AONB. (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
Small print - unfortunately race day photographs have not been made available by the organiser despite contact. In the meantime some photographs were taken after the event for you to enjoy!
Although from a distance the top of Long Mynd appears to be relatively flat, large valleys eat into the edges. Once managed as a grouse moor, today the Long Mynd is owned and maintained by the National Trust. The 10K is part of a running festival, with alternative distances available earlier in the day.
The highest point on Long Mynd is at Pole Bank - 516 metres, or just less than 1700 feet. A long hill that forms a major part of the South Shropshire Hills. It is essentially a moorland plateau, approximately 10 miles long in a north-south direction, and approximately 4 miles across at its widest point.
The Burway is an ancient route which leads up from the town to the plateau on the Long Mynd and is Shropshire's highest public road, reaching 492 metres (1,614 ft) above sea level .
‘Tis not the strength of the body, but the strength of the spirit’.
Runners are met with a lovely introduction to the Burway with this sign at just shy of the first K. For all you Lord of The Rings fans out there, no wonder the county so inspired Tolkien.
Race Reports for this round are very kindly written by Kate Thomas and James Hollis. Both Kate and James are two of our Group 4 runners, with James often being our local Parkrun director too.
‘It was a hot June evening, and the church field was buzzing with activity: live music, a beer and cider tent, hot dogs and burgers. As thunderstorms gathered an intrepid group of CMRC runners waited with anticipation to take part in one of the most challenging 10km races in the region. A race that would take them on a 305m (1000ft) ascent of the famous Long Mynd hills. The climb takes the runners along Burway, an ancient route, 3.25km to the top with gradients hitting 20% in places. No wonder there were one or two nervous faces on the start line!
With the thunderstorms passed and the race underway, we were all treated to some breath-taking scenery. To begin with the trail followed the steep sided edge of Carding Mill Valley before opening up onto undulating moorland. The thought of a refreshing glass of cold cider kept some of us going as we powered towards the summit. A welcome breeze greeted us at the top and we enjoyed spectacular views across to Wales in the West and the Midlands in the East. The descent posed its own challenges but at least took half the time.
There were some notable club performances. Ewan Shaw finished in 5th place overall and was the first club man to cross the line with a time of 41min 33 sec. Jo Watson finished as 1st club lady with a time of 53min and 14 secs. Matt Bailey was 2nd club man in 47min and 29secs. Viv Dempsey was second club lady finishing in 55min 12 secs. Mark Lyall finished 3rd club man in 48min 29 secs. Emily Woodall was 3rd club lady in a time of 58min and 2 secs.
A special mention also for Neal Bailey who ran the ultra-marathon (50km) race earlier in the day, finishing in 14th place overall in a time of 5hrs 12min and 50secs. After a short break, Neal went on to take part in the 10km race as well! A fantastic effort.
Most importantly, everyone who took part ended the race with a warm glow of satisfaction (and some relief) on completing the course. A well-deserved medal. Thank you to Church Stretton Running Festival for putting on such a well organised and enjoyable event’.
James Hollis.
‘Saturday, 10th June was another of this year’s club championship races, Church Stretton 10k. I entered this one without having any idea what I was letting myself in for, but after the club training session, and the conversations around it on the Tuesday before the race, I started to get some idea. Foolishly I also decided to google “The Burway” a decision I instantly regretted when one of the top hits was an image of the 20% incline sign.
The weather had been glorious for so long, but that weekend the forecast changed and storms were due. As we drove from Kidderminster to Church Stretton, we heard that the storms had already started there, so weren’t even sure that the race would go ahead. As we got closer, and as what can only be described as mountains appeared up ahead of us, I started to hope that the storm would stick around and the race would be cancelled… the fact that it started and finished at a beer festival was never going to be a bad thing, and at least we’d have something to do if we couldn’t run!
Luckily (I think…), the storms had cleared by the time we got there, so the race could go ahead. “It’s only like running up Ron Hill - 6 times!” was a phrase I heard repeated more than once, and that feeling of dread and wondering why on earth I was doing this on a Saturday night, started creeping back in again.
Soon it was time for the race to start, and as we set off around the streets of Church Stretton, it didn’t seem too bad, in fact, it was almost flat! But then we started to run up towards the Burway, and the hill just kept going, and going, and going. After we crossed over the cattle grid, it felt almost vertical, me and most of the people around me had no choice but to stop and walk for a bit. Run-walking was the only way I could keep going, and just as I thought maybe it was going to flatten out a bit, I turned a corner and could just see more runners ahead of me, still going higher! I pushed on, and cheered on by a few random sheep at the side of the road, eventually made it to the top, it was such a good feeling to finally be on the flat again!
By this point, people were coming back down the opposite way, everyone looked so strong, there really were some incredible runners out there, and they really spurred me on to keep digging deep. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging, cheering each other on, the atmosphere was just lovely.
As I came back on myself and started the descent back down the hill, the relief was immense! Coming back down was no mean feat either, it was so difficult to stay controlled and not fall over (or even off the side and down into the abyss!). Unfortunately, the clouds meant that the views weren’t as spectacular as they probably would have been had it been clear, but they were still pretty fantastic, and definitely worth the struggle to the top.
As I got closer to the finish line, there were more spectators, who were so lovely and cheered me on, and crossing the line to so many club members who had run incredible races and finished already was brilliant. Nearly as brilliant as the celebratory pint of cider afterwards!
I’ve not been with the club for long, but there is something a little bit special about running these races in club colours, and even though at the time I said I’d never do that one again, I am considering doing this race again next year.
But for now, on to the next championship race…’
Kate Thomas.
The climb to the top was what can only be described as eyewatering! The winner of the 10K coming in at 37:41, with second place coming in at 37:49. The remainder of the field got to see the race leads come practically flying back down the Burway on the otherside of the lane, as the route was an ‘out and back’. Consequently, the middle of the pack who were fighting the hills heard shouts of ‘FRONT RUNNERS!’ in order to warn and get to one side whilst they caught a glimpse of the leaders whizz by.
The Cleobury runners had a grand afternoon out, a few of us treating it like a ‘Long Slow Run’. Some of our times for Church Stretton were…….
Ewan Shaw - 41:33. Ewan got 5th overall and is getting stronger every week!
Matt Bailey - 47:29.
Mark Lyall - 48:29.
Brian Marshall - 49:01. Brian is a new member and also runs for our neighbours at Amazing Feet RC.
Paul Scott - 50:11. Scotty is our unofficial Club masseuse, I wonder if he has had an influx of appointments after the climb!?
Andy Dempsey - 50:49.
Mike Parker - 52:20
James Hollis - 53:00.
Jo Watson - 53:14.
Neal Bailey - 53:54. Neal had done the Ultra earlier in the day, what a machine!
Paul Manison - 54:24.
Viv Dempsey - 55:12.
Emily Woodall - 58:02.
James Griffiths - 59:38
Rob Reynolds - 1:00:17.
Louise Wall - 1:02:52.
Kate Thomas - 1:03:51.
Watches at the ready.
up….up….up….
The next round of the Championships is the 2nd Round of Fast and Furious, Stourport Circuit, 28/06/2023. I wonder if the legs are ready for another beating!