Coventry way 40 miles – Results

4 April 2016 - By Terry Alabaster

Yesterday I completed the Coventry way 40 mile trail race. The Coventry way is
a trail that circles Coventry mainly off road but going on road when going through the local villages.

The distance itself was half a mile longer than the 40 which does not seem much but is soul destroying when you reach 40 miles on your own and cannot see the finish.

I started the race expecting to do 8 hours but hoping for 7.30. But heavy rain overnight added to the rain the previous week made some parts of the course bog like to say the least. It did not help that the 2nd half of the course was muddier than the first. Also for the first 13 miles we barely saw a stile mainly running through gates but from 13 onwards there seemed to be more stiles than gates, and a lot of them. Imagine trying to climb a stile after 39 miles. The hardest part is actually getting down the other side.

I spent the 2nd 20 miles mainly fast walking with the odd running break, like everyone else around me, but I think still overtook a few more people than overtook me.

I was on course for my target time but the last 20.50 miles taking over 5 hours 20 minutes left me hobbling over the line in 8.56.50.