Bath Hilly 10

Has anybody raced this event? Just wanted to know how hilly it really is!

Thanks

Comments

  • Not raced it, but am planning to this year. A friend due to race it with me this year reckons its bloomin' hilly. Having been to Bath I can say that the city is very up and down. Should be good fun though. Beer will taste all the better at the end ... ;-)
  • Hi thanks for that - not sure whether i'll do it or not. I'm a bit scared...

  • Anyone got an idea of the route?
  • I've no idea of the route - the organiser did send me a graph of the gradients though...
  • Now that I've entered (along with 2 friends) I've got the route map in my house. Will bring it in and tell you the rough route tomorrow.
  • Do you live in Bath? Are you going to test it out beforehand? I want to try it before entering
  • Live miles from Bath, in MK. Shall test it out with fingers crossed on the day. Much more fun. ;-)
  • Rough route for race is out from Roundhill Park down through Englishcombe to Priston then up towards Marksbury, turning right at the Grendons (before Marksbury), past Wilmington Farm to Newton St. Loe before turning sharply back down to Roundhill Park. That should give you an idea - apologies for any unintentional mis-representation.

    Cheers.
  • Ran the route as a training run today, there are some good bits and bad bits. The start 1-2 miles are up and down. 2-4 is generally downhill towards Priston, then it is a bit of pay back time. 4-6 is a steady uphill then a harsh up before flattening out. 6-8 is again generally downhill and time for some steady running. 8-10 is a steepish down then a hard last mile up. Not much chance of a PB or sprint finish. Character building can best describe this one.
  • Hey,

    Yep I've run this one a few times.... it's a fairly tough course, 10 miles (as the name suggests) on mostly traffic-free roads out into the countryside. To be honest you really don't notice the hills too much at all (it's more steadily undulating) - with two exceptions!! There's one hill I remember in the second half of the race, twisting through a woody area, and another climb shortly before the finish, followed by a sweeping downhill and then the mother of all hills (short but very steep) at the end. On reflection I've always enjoyed this one (I must do... I keep doing it) even though there's nothing that really stands out. Definitely worth a run. Weather always seem to be great for this one too ;) See you all there!
  • Ollie - it's called the Bath Hilly, not the Bath Undulating! Are you just optimistic/super-fit/Kenyan? Still undecided...
  • "Still undecided..."

    My advice - do it!! It's a good run. Honestly, apart from the hills it's not that hilly (that made sense in my mind at least)
  • "Apart from the hills it's not that hilly"?!?

    I have never been in a race before (despite training a lot) and I fear that this run is not the place to start...
  • lol yep I guess a 10miler makes for a more 'challenging' first race - though that said you gotta start somewhere and going on last year and previous years there'll be people coming in from 55mins all the way through to 2 hours 10min (-> that's more than 12 minute miling!), so you can always take it at your own pace with no pressure whatsoever and enjoy the run...

    there's loads of reasons to do or not do a run (including this one) but please don't discount this one out of fear of some insanely tough course - I promise it's fine for anyone who's done a bit of training (like yourself ;) - instead make the choice on whether you'd prefer your first race to be one with big crowds or a fast course or loads for the family to do etc :)
  • Big crowds and family aren't really incentives to me - I'd be running it for myself. In fact I wouldn't even tell my mum. She'd probably organise a coachload of supporters/custom-made T-shirts/banners/packed lunches etc.

    Not so worried about the distance either as I'd been envisaging that my first race would be a half and have been roughly following a marathon training schedule.

    I think what worried me was that I somehow got hold of a list of times for last year's competitors and there were lots and lots of very nifty times (around 60 mins). I'd be gutted if I was the last home. Being somewhat competitive by nature my ego may never recover! Your last post re finishing times leaves me feeling a little more optimistic...
  • Hi Elizabeth.

    My wife is also running with me and is a bit hesitant. She's not that hot on hills and hasn't run that many races - she started racing this year with a 5 mile multi-terrain race (very hilly!). I'd go for it if I were you. Best way to get over the first race 'aaagh am I going to be last!!!?' feeling is to give it a shot. Next race is waaay less daunting. Everybody is very friendly.

    Hope to see you there!
  • Thanks Brian. I'm glad "aaagh am I going to be last!!!?" is a recognised condition amongst us runners and I shall endeavour to get over myself!
  • Oh, yes, a very common and recognised condition. However, after your first race (of a given distance) it completely disappears. Great!
  • Elizabeth - did you do it? I did having read through this thread this morning... hope you had a good run!
  • Hi Geoff,

    No I didn't make it to the race for a few reasons. Firstly, my knee hasn't been great these past two weeks and I have been on complete rest from running (grrr). Secondly, the silly runner's nerves (see post above). Thirdly, the friend who was going to accompany me for moral support couldn't make it leaving me feeling a little shy (silly I know).

    Well done you for taking part. Did you enjoy it?
  • Elizabeth

    Yes it was great thanks. There were quite a few more experienced runners there than I'd anticipated (presumably more of the casual runners are put off by the word 'hilly' for this one...) but it was a really friendly crowd and a beautiful route through some stunning countryside. I'll definitely do it again next year. The hills weren't too bad.

    Interestingly I very missed out too, as my friend pulled out the day before. But I read through your thread on Saturday morning with my pre-run porridge and decided to just go for it anyway. I know how you feel... but I'm becoming convinced it's normally harder to get to the start line than it is to complete the course - and it's always worth taking part.

    Good luck for the next one and hope your knee clears up soon!
  • I'm glad that my dithering persuaded you to go for it! Every cloud has a silver lining and all that.

    I agree with you about getting to the start line being the hardest part and when my knee is better I'm definitely going to get on with it. Promise.

    By the way - what was your time?
  • I got round in 77.15, which I was really pleased with and surprised by (I was hoping to be inside 1hr 30). My aim is to build up to beating my PB at the Bristol Half Marathon in October, after a few months loafing around.

    It was really nice to get out and do a weekend run with about 140 other people this weekend than on my own!

    My previous races have all been 'big' events (e.g. city halfs and 1 or 2 marathons). It's really nice to do these smaller runs - go for it!
  • By the way Elizabeth, for info the last competitor finished on Saturday in 2hrs 1.5 mins - so Ollie was right about the 12 min miling by some runners in this event...

    G
  • That's an excellent time! The organiser sent me a graph of the gradients and it looked quite tough in places so 77.15 is good going. Well done you!

  • Glad you enjoyed it Geoff - I was the marshall cheering you on after about two miles through Englishcombe village, and then at the finish - all were still looking good at two miles but some were the worse for wear at the finish after the final hill!

    Results are on the club website www.cityofbath.org - 139 finishers, which must be a recent record.

    If either of you two are local, come and join us on a Tuesday night at the Uni - all abilities welcomed
  • Just to say thanks to COBAC, great race, well organised, nice weather and I will be back next year as long as the hills get flattened a bit :-).
  • Hey,

    I'm based in Bristol - what happens over at the uni on Tuesdays?
  • By the way, Original Boy Wonder, I think the website you mean is www.cityofbathac.org. The website you sent takes us to Bath, Maine, "a small jewel of a city...recently deemed one of the best small cities in America". Genius.
  • Woops - just testing!! I have actually been to (passed through, more like) Bath Maine very many years ago and can attest to how beautiful that part of New England is (or rather was)

    Tuesdays - several groups of runners of all abilities - details on website
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