BUCS Hill Climb, 5 Nov 2022

Another wet weekend away racing Hill Climb (what else would you expect from early November?) Once again it was an early morning start to pack the van so that the team could drive to Terrace Hill in Leicestershire. The only difference between this week and last was this time I was armed with a pan and a spoon as (Tim won’t be happy with me for this) [no he’s not!] I was viewing this race as more of a spectator sport. Mentally I really struggle with hill climbs as I have this notion that I will be bad at them. The fact I raced BUCS Hill Climb at all is still surprising to me as I swore dead over summer that you would not find me racing up a hill. But as the deadline to sign up drew nearer I decided why not? What was I training for if not to race and how did I know I was bad if I never actually tried?

With that mentality I found myself in a car park in Leicestershire in the rain. A very damp spin over to the hill to do a recce had me very nervous. The hill was wildly different to the one from Varsity Hill Climb two weeks ago. Gone was the gentle gradients and flat mid-section. Instead, the hill was just that, a hill – 1.1km with an average gradient of 8%, maxing out at 16%. I have an aversion to steep hills and seeing my heart rate sky rocket even just spinning up made anxious. I always get quite bad pre-race nerves but the fact I was the last person off (and had a panicked moment warming up where I thought I’d missed my start time) did not help. But, on the start line the nerves disappear – I’ve committed to being there now. Maybe it’s a good thing I can’t really give a detailed account of how the race went because at least that means I tried hard. I remember giving it full effort up the steep bit though and having the team cheer me on was a great feeling. Having them run up beside me as well was definitely motivation to keep the legs turning even if the lungs were less than pleased. I still had a bit left in the tank for the flatter section at the top so maybe there was more to give earlier. I was happy with the race and the result, coming mid pack at BUCS, for me, is an achievement as I was expecting to come dead last.

I think what these past few hill climbs has showed me is that it’s worth giving it a go because I surprised myself, not just in the results but in how much I enjoyed the whole hill climb race experience. Safe to say I’m keen to race again next year and climb some positions up the results table.

Maddie Angwin