KEEP RIGHT ON TO THE END OF THE ROAD....

First leg of the Borders XC yesterday. At Lauder (hence the photo). And what a belter it was.

Unbelievably nice weather - a little frost and ice - just to remind us that winter's on its way. But the sun got up and the frost melted leaving quite a warm day and just enough moisture on the ground to keep the going good and "claggy"!!
I'd opted for trail shoes for this race, but I think I may have been better off with a more aggressive stud. I was skittering about quite a bit! After a long slow climb along part the Southern Upland Way, towards Chester Hill, you drop through the bracken into a wee valley. Then its along the bottom of the valley over numerous burns and boggy bits before another energy sapping climb up a muddy path (steep this time) and then a short fast dash back into the park and the finish line.
An amazing turnout: 184 runners. Good to see so many at this series (good turnout for Dunbar).
Only 4 and a bit miles but it always feels longer. The hardest run I've done in a long time.
A quick coffee and a bit of cake back in the registration hall before we headed home and I settled down to getting the results onto the interweb (the temptation to "adjust" my own result was always present - but ignored. Honest).