Maltby 7m Road Race - First, Last and Easily Third.

   The weather turned out to be perfect for today's race which was the Maltby 7 mile. This was my first time at Maltby and unfortunately it will be my last as the organisers feel the race has out grown its location. The route is undulating with just a short steep hill half a kilometre from the finishing line which could be interesting if you are locked in a close quarter battle with someone for position.
 

Maltby 7m Road Race 2014

The race got under way and this time I controlled my pace and glided in to position behind old rival Jim Bulman and Greg Jayasuriya, just to make sure I wasn't going too hard I let a small gap grow between myself and them as I settled in. Around the half mile mark I crossed the gap to Bulman and Jayasuriya and felt quite comfortable with the pace that was until just after a mile. Looking back I think I was being too cautious because as soon as they upped the pace slightly I let them go and didn't even bother putting in some good old sweat and tears like I would normally do. As I made my way up a long steady hill I was caught by the runner in fourth place who stayed with me on the descent and past the three mile mark. As the road levelled off I upped my pace seeing as I had plenty of gas left in the tank and eased away to secure third position. The two up front were around forty five seconds to a minute ahead and I decided I had better make my move so I set off in pursuit but still below any sort of red line stuff. At the five mile point I could see Jayasuriya pull away from Bulman and the gap between myself and Bulman was just about staying the same. I was in no-mans land by the time I reached the short steep climb before the finish which resulted in me just cruising up it at a content effort that I was already putting in, a short distance after I finished the race in 38 minutes 49 seconds to take third place. Approximately one  minute behind Bulman and two behind Jayasuriya. Could I of taken second if I had gone eyeballs out and given it everything ? No I couldn't of. But I achieved one of my goals which was to thoroughly enjoy the race and it was great to finish the race and feel like I could of gone round again. Maybe just maybe I might just be getting used to this racing lark again.
    Going back four to five years ago I raced Bulman over tarmac and fell and not once did he beat me, he came within a second or a few more but I managed to fend him off. This time round since my come back he has beaten me every time and credit due its not just down to me being slower. I was looking forward to 2015 and locking horns as Jim says as I really need to get the better of him and then he goes and tells me he is packing in at the end of the year. Its like a football team getting an early couple of goals in the first ten minutes and then going home before full time and claiming victory. He's a fantastic character and will be sorely missed in the running world that is for sure,  so if you know that Bulman lad have a quiet word with him and convince him to continue. Just let me get a few good weeks of training in before you convince him though.