Peel to Douglas Trail Race 30/08/20

Описание: Conditions were absolutely perfect for this morning's Peel to Douglas Trail Race along the Heritage Trail, a distance of a little over ten miles.

The entry of only 37 - and the difficulty in recruiting marshals - was perhaps a reflection that racing has reached saturation point with so many events being held since restrictions were lifted a few weeks ago.

What the field lacked in quantity it certainly made up for with quality, with Ollie Lockley and Rachael Franklin each demolishing the previous race record times. Ollie recorded a time of 52 minutes 40 seconds, and remarkably he used the race as merely part of a 24-mile training session in preparation for the elite race at the London Marathon. He continued after the race with multiple laps of the NSC Roadway.

Andy Nash had an excellent run to place second, with Christian Varley adding yet another strong race in this remarkable year for him to finish third.
Rachael Franklin completed her longest race to date, and despite missing both drinks stations continued to record an excellent sub-hour time, 59.44 to be exact. Looking strong and relaxed, she continues her impressive transition from being a middle distance track specialist to performing with high quality over the longer distances.

I was multi-tasking this morning as in addition to filming I was also manning the drinks station at Cooilingel road. I used Murray Lambden's old trick of perching the camera on a suitable object - in this case a wooden bridge - pointing it in the general direction of the runners and hoping for the best. It seems to have worked quite well!