This is an 11km off road race organised by the Marshfield School PTA and Corsham Running Club.  There is a ‘Mudling’ race for children that takes place before the Mudlark and also a shorter adult race – the ‘Mudlite’ – which starts soon after the Mudlark.  So lots of families take part and give the event a friendly family feel.

There were five Staple Hill Runners taking part – myself, Alan & Maggie Cook, Glen & Vicky Catnach – and also Herve Skenderoff who is a regular at Pomphrey Hill parkrun.  We were discussing target times before the race; my target was to come in under one hour and under my time last year of 59:50.

The profile of the race route is really quite unusual.  There are four miles of mainly downhill (with one steep uphill bit in there), one really long and steep hill for mile five, then an up and down mile, then an uphill last 0.8 miles to the finish.  It is impossible to decide what pace to go at – when you are going downhill you will go faster and when you go uphill you will go slower; what more can you do?

I decided to try to make the most of the initial downhill sections so started not too far from the front of the runners at the start line and just went for it.  The first section runs along the road for a bit, and then down a bridle path shaded by trees, before coming out into the open valley.  That is when one of the great attractions of the race first hits you – the lovely views of the countryside as you continue along (and down) this very picturesque valley.  It was all looking at its best on what was a bright sunny day.

The first mile passed quickly then the pace slowed down as the squidgy footpath and grass took effect.  It was all still pretty fast for an off road run though.  I took a tumble crossing one of the fields but my head had a soft landing so no harm done.  The following runner said that he enjoyed the spectacle as I had fallen forwards and face planted with some style.  After the fourth mile you reach THE HILL.  Strangely I had been looking forward to THE HILL.  I could feel myself tiring after the initial gung ho pace, and had already decided to walk the steeper sections of THE HILL, so it would actually allow me to get my breath back a little before the final couple of miles.  Even walking, though, THE HILL is quite something.  Both long and steep it seems an age before you can see where it finishes.

I reached the top and tried to get my legs to revert to running mode but they weren’t very keen.  I noticed I had covered five miles in 44 minutes.  So that left another 1.8 miles to go in under 16 minutes to beat the hour mark.  Mental maths when you’re at this point is never easy but it seemed I needed to do a 9 minute mile then have 7 minutes for the last stretch.  That last stretch is uphill though so I decided the next mile would have to be in 8 minutes to achieve the target.  One mile later my watch told me it had taken 8:20.  Beating the hour now seemed out of reach.  I carried on with the uphill slog across the final field and came out onto the road in the village.  Keep bearing left said the marshal and thankfully there was a bit of downhill before you reach the edge of the houses and get into the last few hundred yards up a lane to the finish.  I glanced at my watch and was truly surprised to see that it said 58:59.  Could I cover those last few hundred yards in a minute?  I doubted it but pushed on anyway, as hard as I could, just in case.  With arm action that Helen would have been proud of I gave it everything and raced towards and across the finish line.  My watch said 59:55!  A happy ending, even though it was a few seconds slower than last year.

Herve had already finished, and Alan, Glen, Vicky and Maggie came in a little later.  We had all enjoyed the race.  There were bananas and mini flapjacks and water for the finishers.  We followed that with some home-made cake (50p a slice!) and a cuppa from inside the cricket pavilion.  Bacon rolls were also on offer.

So in the end a good time was had by all.  Last year THE HILL put off some of our fellow Staple Hill Runners.  But if you approach it as a walking interlude, in the middle of a run, then it doesn't seem so bad.  Otherwise the event has a great atmosphere, the scenery is lovely, the marshals are encouraging, and the post run refreshments are very good.  Definitely one to consider if you fancy an off road challenge just a 20 minute drive from Staple Hill.