Dursley Dozen - by Allison=20 Lucas

The=20 Dursley Dozen race, or so they call it = seemed more=20 like the Dursley Marathon to me=20 ! Sunday 11th February dawned and against all odds the weather = forecast=20 was wrong. It was bright, sunny and quite mild. In spite of the = reputation of=20 being very hilly and hard there was a very reasonable turn out from the = "tristers". The James clan = were=20 there in force, Rob in training for the Marines (minus the famous blonde = locks),=20 Lee showing him "older brother can do it too" and Uncle Rich storming = along and=20 finishing in a really good time.

This=20 year seems to be the year for the reappearance of traithletes from the past. Who should be there but = Graham=20 Davies, having made an amazing recovery from a leg injury and ran with = the extra=20 weight of metal in his legs pretty much as good as ever. =

For=20 those of you who don?t know=20 Graham was a brilliant triathlete who = completed in the=20 World Age Group = Championships and=20 did very well. By the way congratulations to both Graham on the birth of = his son=20 and to Chris and Sarah on the birth of their Daughter - I digress !

Anyway=20 I think the race was just about as bad as it comes. Thick,=20 wet, squelching mud for miles, interesting wooded areas and uneven = surfaces to=20 test even the strongest of ankles. Ups and downs which I think = only the=20 Grizzley race can challenge. The ultimate up = is a hill=20 about the eleventh

mile=20 on ropes which stretch three quarters of the way up the hill until we = run out of=20 the trees. Then the final part of the hill has to be walked with no = help,=20 muscles in the calves screaming, lungs bursting and language=20 ??????

say=20 no more

But=20 in spite of the effort there are plenty of smiles. At eight miles I = turned to=20 the guy next to me and said " only three to = go now ".=20 He replied "I thought this race was called the Dursley=20 Dozen" Dumb - Dumb, what

happened=20 to my maths ? Still four miles wasn?t much different to three miles when you?re dying As the race terminates in the village = streets=20 of Dursley there were lots of loud cheers = from both=20 spectators and the many athletes who had already competed the race.=20

Everyone's=20 spirit's were lifted and smiles appeared on = all the=20 faces in spite of their exhaustion. It was interesting, exhilarating and = in=20 parts hellish but I bet we?ll=20 be back again next time even if it?s only = for the home=20 made cakes served afterwards.

Why=20 don?t you give it = a go next=20 year - its a great challenge, believe me.