On Easter Monday, seven intrepid members of ESM ventured into the countryside to take on the Beaconsfield 5 Mile Trail run (writes Louise Prince). And what a beautiful run it was, too. Very popular, which meant the opening stretches were a little over-crowded and the initial pace was rather slow (excuse number one for failure to get a PB!) For those who didn’t pick their starting point wisely (Danielle and Louise), the choice was between running slowly behind the crowd, taking the grass verge route, only to discover it banked rather sharply, or to run down the centre of the path, which, for some reason, wasn’t as popular as the outside tracks – may have been to do with the thick stinging nettles – but having attempted options 1 & 2, that seemed like a reasonable choice!
Other ESMers were far more sensible in where they placed themselves, getting off to a flying start, and tearing round the course in some very impressive times – Mark was first ESM person home in 31:27, Shona was next, bang on 35 minutes, followed by Christine in 38:36 (and 1st in her age group), Tony was next home in 39:02, followed by Lynn in 40:13.
Once passed the nettlebeds it was on through the woods, and the carpets of bluebells that probably went by in the blink of an eye for the faster runners, whilst the slower ones amongst us had plenty of time to admire the full beauty of the course (excuse number two: too busy looking at the scenery to concentrate on speed…)
All in all, a delightful run in the countryside, and excellent way to work off the excess Easter chocolate! (excuse number three: too much chocolate).
The photo shows, from left: Danielle, Louise, Mark, Shona & Christine
ESM Results summary
23 Mark Kencroft (V45) 31:27 64 Shona Cowper 35:00; 142 Christine Meek (V55) 38:36; 152 Tony Hursey (V45) 39:02; 178 Lynn Wilson (V60) 40:13; 256 Louise Prince (V45) 43:28; 289 Danielle Mercey (V55) 44:55
Full results on runbritain