Plymouth Musketeers made a strong showing the first event of the first ever Dig Deep series – this month’s 10km at Sibleyback Lake.
72 runners finished which was pretty encouraging for the Dig Deep team as the weather was terrible, strong freezing winds with rain and hail were enough to deter runners from making the longish trip to a remote race.
So only the tough got going to dig deep into their stamina, fitness and determination. Tough Musketeers included first home for the club in a very impressive 13th was Martin French in 41.07, 2nd Muskie was Guy Boswell in 24th in 43.37 and third Muskie in 39th was Ken Kingston in 50min.
The weather can only get better for the Dig Deep next series of 5km races and September’s 10km, not to forget the triathlons. For those keen enough to trial the new race it was a worthwhile challenge and I forecast many more runners will be attracted to a spectacular location and a great route which should appeal to those who
want an intro to trail races.
Sibleyback Lake is high up on Bodmin Moor, near Minions village, Liskeard area. Despite the remote site, the facilities are luxurious compared with many off-road runs, boasting indoor changing, showers, under-cover registration, toilets excellent café with home made food and friendly staff.
The race was well organised with good marshalling and pre-race briefing. The route is easy underfoot and basically a level trail surface twice round the lake.
Scenery varies from twisting puddly, firm woodland where you have to watch your feet on slippery tree roots, to soft to firm loose surface where you can run with more confidence and even admire the scenery. Two laps of the lake means you do get the chance to get familiar with the circuit and push on for a fast finish – even with a gale in your face.
Most runners were slower by about two minutes than their average 10km due to the conditions. But it was a very good event all round and we even received an
early Easter egg in the goody bag and a medal.
By Guy