Only 6 days after my Marathon I was heading off again and this time to Cambridge to take part in a race with a difference. My sister-in-law had told me about the event last year but it wasn’t possible to take part, so after 1 to many drinks on New Year’s Eve I entered the event for this year.
The event is organised by Red Bull and all entries fees are donated to the Wings for Life charity, which supports people who have suffered spinal injuries. We were running for those that can’t! The event takes place in 111 countries across the world with 155,288 people were registered to take part. The events all start at the same time across the world and the start time for Cambridge was midday. The runners set off with a half an hour head start before the catcher car sets off after you. It starts at 16km an hour and increases every hour until it gets to 35km an hour and keeps going until it catches the last runner.
We headed off to Cambridge on the Saturday and I collected my race number from a little shop in the city before heading off to stay with my sister-in-law in Cottenham.
Race day and my sister-in-law and I caught the park and ride into Cambridge as a lot of the roads were closed off and headed to the start area to get ready. Whilst milling around David Couthard arrived as he would be driving the catcher car. I managed to get a selfie with him so that made my day.
At 11.30 we headed to the start line and got into our pens, I guess when we entered they must have asked us to predict how far we would get although I can’t remember this. Thankfully it only took a couple of minutes to get over the start line but we were rather bunched up and the streets of Cambridge are very narrow so there was lots of stop starting to begin with. I was hoping to make it to 10k before the car caught me but was getting concerned as we were running a lot slower than I would have liked.
Thankfully the route is very flat apart from one small incline during the second mile but it really wasn’t that bad. At about this point I realised something wasn’t quite right but with my running tights and specifically the inside of my leg. I reached down to discover I’d had a wardrobe malfunction and my seam had split, this became rather painful but I kept going as fast as I could. I grabbed a drink at the station and splashed some water on my leg and tried my best to run like John Wayne which isn’t easy!
I kept moving as fast as possible and got to the 5k mark in half an hour and knew the car was then after me. I kept moving and saw Dave at the 7k point with his camera it had become rather warm by now and my leg was very painful but I kept moving.
As we were approaching the 9k marker the motor bikes drove past telling everyone to keep to the left as the catcher car was coming, I’m pleased to say that David Couthard shouted well done out of the window to me just before I reached the 9k point, my official distance as 8.95km. Not as far as I would have liked but considering the pain I was in I was pleased to have been caught.
I tried to patch my trousers up with one of my safety pins from my number and a tissue a fellow competitor had given but this didn’t really work so I walked the 1k to the bus stop for the journey back to the beginning. After getting back the first aiders patched me up and the trousers went in the bin when we got home.
We spent the rest of the afternoon following the race online which was great fun. The overall winner was in Dubai and in a wheelchair, not a racing chair a normal wheelchair and he managed 92k before he was caught; the winning male runner managed 88k in Italy with the winning female getting to 68k in Chile. The Cambridge winner was 12th overall in the world and managed 68.8k.
I’m already considering going back next year as I feel I have unfinished business I think on fresh legs and without clothing problems I could have got past my target 10k!
Some photos of the day are here