Snickerthon half marathon 2018
I entered for the Snickerthon marathon but ended up doing the half marathon. Was this due to the current heat wave? Maybe, but there was a frequent cool fresh breeze from across the lake. Perhaps I found it difficult because it was only two weeks since running in the quite formidable South Downs trail marathon. Actually it’s quite enigmatic because at least once a week I do a long slow distance training jog of between 10-20 miles. It’s also possible that I was overcompensating for the heat by trying to jog too slowly, which I find more difficult; and I remained right at the back of the field throughout and finished in a very slow time compared to my usual half marathon distance time. Whatever the explanation I managed to stumble on the uneven surface while admiring the beauty of the cool tree canopied section. I remember extending the arms to break the fall but they were like paper and offered no support. On the other hand, as I was helped to my feet I noted that falling over really is a major wake up call. Only my third trail race and I’m participating fully. Oh what fun!
The route for the Snickerthon is a scenic trail circuit of 3.3 miles located in Chasewater Country Park in the West Midlands. It’s an old style event with no electronic chip timing. Instead each runner carries a card to be hole punched after completing each lap. According to my watch the distance was more likely 26.4+ miles than 26.2. The route encircles a lake and water sports such as water skiing and the overall effect is that the route has several gentle downward slopes. There’s almost an optical illusion of going downhill with no corresponding uphill; quite interesting really. There's also plenty of variety underfoot including jagged embedded rocks and stones, hardened mud channels, paths, plus softer surfaces. I’ll definitely be on the look out for this next year.
Snickerthon marathon website 30th June