On a glorious autumnal morning in Priory Park, St Neots the 2018/19 Frostbite season got underway. In total 36 Werrington Joggers took part in the race.

Parking, which is often cited as difficult at Priory Park didn’t seem too bad. I parked at the primary school just up the road from Priory Park following instructions on the Frostbite website. On arrival at the venue, Mr Huckle noticed straight away that the van selling bacon rolls was absent this year. Other than that everything was as I remember from last year. I didn’t need the loo, but I didn’t see anyone going behind a tree, so I’m guessing the queues were manageable.

Conditions for the run were good. Pleasant weather, grass was slightly damp but most importantly the track through the trees was firm all the way through, no muddy puddles. There were however tree roots to watch out for, these had been handily painted red to reduce the risk of a tumble, though I know a few did happen.

The course is three laps of Priory Park and there are long climbs up moderate hills to endure. That does also give you long downhill stretches to enjoy. Terrain is mainly grass except for the trek through the trees. The route was lined with friendly marshals who were keen to encourage all runners. A cup of water and a slice of cake was waiting at the finish line.

Overall we finished joint 9th, good effort from all involved and an improvement on last year. For the record our 10 scoring runners were: Paul Halford, Jack Green, Billy Slaven, Phil Hamlyn, Malc Jacklin, Ellie Swire, Jeremy Thompson, Jeremy Green, Sadie Boor and Sharon Hall. But just as important, everyone that raced (all 36 of us) impacted the scores of at least one other team by pushing their scoring runners down, proving how important participation is. Turn up and we will conquer!

Race 2 takes place on the 4th November at Nene Park.