As I'm still to Lardy and not up to race speed (if i ever was) Gaz cracked the www.pasenineclothing.co.uk team whip for the day at the Ruthin Merida 100. And here is his update on the weekends proceedings.

Hi,

Bill, Gaz, Nat and Shona headed up to Ruthin for the final Merida
marathon of the year.  The boys did the 100km and the girls the 50km; it
was Shona's maiden marathon and Bill's first on his (t)rusty rigid
singlespeed.  The conditions were perfect, fast and dry, and after a
quick dip in disinfectant (foot and mouth) the event started at half
nine.

For both Bill and Shona it was a baptism of fire as the hills were
remorseless, the 50km course being the same course as the 100km with a
couple of loops missed out.  There weren't any flat stretches to spin
the legs out and recover.  Each hill climb was immediately followed by a
swift downhill and then straight back into the next ascent.  None the
less, it was a great course and both of them made a monumental effort to
finish in decent times.

Special mention should be made for Freddy and Jamie (Shona's husband)
who turned out to support.  Jamie's secret breakfast recipe certainly
hit the spot and as for the soup at the end...

Lucky Bill won a hoody in the draw on the start and then bagged a spot
prize at the finish for being a rigid s/s lunatic.


Gaz.