Chevin Chase by Curtis Parker-Milnes

It’s an iconic event within the Yorkshire running calendar. It has probably also gained some notoriety as the Brownlee Brothers have been known to frequent it. It’s the Chevin Chase. Funnily enough, Jonny Brownlee turned up and won it today.

It was my first running of the event this year and something I had been looking forward to from the moment I signed up. Thanks go out to Paul Sawyer for the lift from Leeds to Guiseley and also my lovely Mum for taking me into Leeds in the first place. Mums don’t often get enough credit. Things didn’t get off to the most amazing start, either – I had, for the first time ever, forgotten my timing chip. I abruptly left Costa, where we had stationed ourself for a pre-run coffee, and headed to the registration desk. Incredibly, the team were very understanding and simply swapped my number and gave me one with a new timing chip.

Crisis (or crises) averted, we eventually made our way up to the start line and bumped into a few other Hyde Park Harriers. I was also in awe of Phil’s costume; he’d dressed up as Jaz. I ended up starting quite near the back, taking about a minute to actually cross the start line. It meant that once the race was underway I immediately had a lot of weaving to do, but if anything it helped me maintain a steady pace – I knew things were going to get a lot tougher.

chevin1

After about a mile of climbing up the roads, we turned off and began our off-road ascent. About another kilometre down the road and the crowds were building up. It was like when you watch the Tour de France on the tele, except I was actually living in that moment. We’d reached the first descent, a rocky but not too technical downhill section. I relished in this; I’ve decided I really like a good quality descent to test my nerve and see how rubbery my ankles are.

I went past a number of people here and as we crossed the road I managed to just squeeze past two girls running side-by-side, giving me some much needed space up the next undulating section. A left turn saw us drop down again and I let gravity carry me down. We continued through the Chevin until we all suddenly came to a halt to climb over (not up!) a tree. I was to later learn that this tree was (apparently) felled by Mother Nature while the race was underway. Thankfully, nobody was injured.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a wonderful vantage point for panoramic views of the Wharfe Valley appeared. I guess that’s why they call it Surprise View. I took a moment to stop and appreciate what I could see. This was short lived, however. We headed back onto the road for a very steep climb up. However, it turns out this wasn’t even yet the steepest part! Turning the corner, we continued climbing, up and up. I deemed that to carry as much speed up the hill as possible with the least amount of effort I should walk. As we neared the top, another Tour de France moment happened and we were narrowed to two abreast. I think this photo of Tom Adams in 2nd place really captures the amazing atmosphere. It was great as I ran past a few people I knew who were cheering on in the crowds. We finally reached the summit and I could relax – just another three kilometres to go!

These didn’t end up being quite as easy as I had hoped. It was a bit blowy up there. At one point my nose went numb on one side because the wind was so cold and strong. We were nearing the end and I was looking forward to it though – I was starting to ache. We ran through a very muddy patch and straight through a big puddle that most people wanted to avoid… I did simply just take the racing line!

The final descent was a wonderful opportunity to stretch my legs. I enjoyed it a lot. A small climb that killed my momentum followed a right hand turn. The final push down the hill and into the school was here and I pushed on, relishing the opportunity to cross that line and stop moving! I was given a lovely long sleeve t-shirt for my sins and now have a wonderful memory of the Chevin Chase 2016.

I can’t wait to do it again next year!

IMG_1B8ACD05EF1C-1.jpegThe Strava trace can be found here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.