Race day 2

We got back to Epsom late last night after my race but we were up early for Rosemary's Open 5 (hour) adventure race. This series is perfect for her as it combines biking, running and strategic navigating on trails and bridleways. She was partnered by Lucy Harris and they were clear favourites to win the female pairs.

The drive to Cranleigh was less tiresome in daylight, with puddles being easier to avoid. I even saw a humongous cock on a traffic island which was missed in the dark. Why this plastic chook had been erected, one can only guess! When we arrived, a big group of roadies had gathered for their Sunday cycle in the Surrey hills. The bikes some of them were riding were full race numbers, with one of them using Lightweight wheels on his steed. This brand of hoop typically costs well in excess of £2K and you wouldn't catch a pro who got them for free using them at this time of year.

I was helping man the transition area so set off up the road as Rosemary got registered and organised. I met my fellow helpers for the day, Simon, Pete, Charlotte and a few others, none of who I'd met before. We were soon into piss taking though, to each other and the numerous competitors that we'd help dib in and out. Rosemary and Lucy were the last to start, at 10.28am with only 2 minutes to go until the end of the start window. For seasoned adventure racers, they were looking very amateur. R struggled to close her map board holder. I shouted "you've forgotten your kiss" at which stage she shouted " my glove" and scuttled back to get it.

A few of us headed back to the hall for lunch, a roll from Subway. No disrespect to those who purchased lunch...but Subway stuff is repulsive. How is this a global chain? Afterwards, I headed back to transition, taking down the arrows directing competitors to the start as I went. One was very high up a lamp post and I had to climb the thing to get at it. Another was attached to a post beside a For Sale sign. As I cut the zip tie.....timber! The sign was felled like a tree but the arrow remained. Fortunately I had a few zip ties in my pocket so managed to fix it.

With 35 mins to go in the race, Rosemary and Lucy came into transition, rendering a good overall score impossible. This was strategic as Lucy had done the Dark Mountains ultra marathon last week, was tired and had a sore knee. They arrived back just over 10 minutes late so lost loads of points in penalty. As they headed to prize giving, I helped the team pack up. This was a slog as there were numerous banners, flags and a gazebo to take down and pack. It was still fun and I imagine I'll have to become expert if I chose to volunteer for the Itera 5 Day World Series adventure race later in the year. Rosemary is doing it.

She and her mum arrived just as we were finishing packing the van so I said my goodbyes and jumped in the car. I was exhausted. The girls, despite relatively low points, had won their category and had finished 8th overall, chicking fewer blokes than normal. Not a bad show but maybe a new challenge is required. We got home and I got to making the dinner immediately, a task that I normally enjoy........

At bed time I popped the radio on to listen to Desert Island Discs, not knowing who the guest was. I didn't find out either as I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.