The sun was shining, sunglasses made an appearance and people were smiling, reports Freya Hollingsworth. Could it be, the first weekend in many where we wouldn’t finish a race looking like drowned rats?
11 Hillingdon AC ladies congregated around the finish line, Bryony arrived not looking best pleased at the fact that even though it was sunny it was still bitterly cold!! Ladies captain, Mel rocked up, in her ski sunglasses still imagining she was on holiday…it is Parliament Hill after all, the closest some of us will get to the mountains this season!
De-layering happened lastminute.com and a sea of ladies made their way towards the start. Huddling at the bottom of the hill “eagerly” waiting to get going – not wanting to get cold – spectators ringing their cowbells stood on along the edge of the course. 2.20pm arrived, the gun went, Garmin watches were started and a herd of 1,113 ladies charged upwards, conquering Parliament Hill.
The challenging course made everyone (apart from Gemma finishing in 57th place) feel as though they were “trudging”, not racing. Trying not to lose shoes in the mud appeared a struggle for many competitors, not for the HAC ladies who powered through and finished with shoes still on both feet! Cheering from spectators all over the course made the trudge worth it, especially from Mel and Christina at the end of the first lap.
Notable performances go to support crew for standing in the cold, all the HAC ladies who conquered Parliament Hill (IN THE SUNSHINE) and especially Heather who kindly informed us just before the start gun went off that she will sadly be leaving us and moving to Somerset because the hills around here just aren’t challenging enough for her.
Top four scorers for the club were Gemma Barry (57), Hannah Wells (280), Iwona Gray-Cauvin (605) and Kathryn Carruthers (671). The Hillingdon AC ladies team finished in 48th position out of 112 teams.
