The views from the top of Dunstable Downs were perfect. On a clear day like Sunday you can see Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire & Oxfordshire.

Before the race CJ offered some first rate advice that you may want to try yourself. It worked for me! He recommended several fast sprints to get as close to max HR as possible, in prep for the hill climbs on the trail run. The theory being, if you have been up to a high heart rate previously, your heart is expecting further hard work and is more prepared to supply more blood to working muscles. I have to say it worked really well. The first climb plus the following 4.5km whizzed by. Then came the hill. A 20 degree climb for about 300metres. I attempted to attack it, but with a lack of hill-climb experience I tired quite quickly. My lower back felt most of the strain and lit up like fireworks on the fourth of July. After walking some and running some I was soon onto relatively flat land and back on track. 

This is my second trail run ever and it won’t be my last. I had a lot of fun running through the downs.You don’t really pay much attention to how long you have been running. Instead you concentrate on the floor and what obstacles are in front of you. 

Trail running in my Vibram FiveFingers, a sucess!

This run was made even more interesting given that I was wearing my Vibram FiveFingers, KSOs. You feel every bump and lump under foot, so it makes you very aware of your stride length, cadence and sound of your feet. After owning the Vibram Bikila, the Komodo and now the KSO, I much prefer the KSOs as they offered protection from the stone laden single track, but did not compromise on proprioception (which is basically the feedback your body gets from your feet that informs decisions on foot placement). 

50th out of 400? I’ll take that!

I ended up finishing the 10km in 46:33 which put me at 50th, out of over 400 runners. Baring in mind my PR on a flat course is just under 42minutes and I had to walk some of this course I am really pleased. Another win for the minimalist shoe/barefoot lifestyle. I also felt really strong in the final 2km and overtook 4 people on the last 200m sprint home to the finish. Given that I have mostly been training using CrossFit it may be another win for the sport of fitness.