There were five Waverley Harriers members who rebelled from either the normal Sunday morning club meeting or the cross-country run to take part in the Surrey Spitfire 20 mile race. For those of us with a spring marathon entry, the timing of the event, distance run and proximity to Godalming makes it an obvious choice. The start and finish was at the vast Dunsfold airfield; it meant that I left home 45 minutes before the race start and was parked, having collected my race number, less than 20 minutes later. Given it was a chilly morning, I emerged from my car 5 minutes before the start and did my usual, token warm-up. The route is a 2-lap circuit, with the first 3 miles being around the airfield before taking on the undulating lanes around Dunsfold village. I found the never-ending runways of the airfield, with at least a mile running directly into a cold head-wind, to be the toughest part, although there is some distraction in running over the familiar features of the Top Gear race track. But, once onto the lovely country lanes I could enjoy the views and pleasant company of the other competitors. Drinks and gels were readily available every 3 miles from the cheerful and well organised race marshals. Personally, I like the 2-lap format, although somewhat stupidly attempted to run a quicker second lap, which I am now regretting. If it doesn’t clash with other club events next year, I well recommend it as a local race for members. Honourable mention goes out to Nick Morgan who came 5th from 548 finishers, with a stunning time of 2 hours and 3 minutes – it is always nice to see Waverley Harriers listed on the first page of the results.
Waverley Harriers Running Club