Falkirk Epic Trail 10km, 15 Jan 2023

This was my first running event since 2019 so I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect. I just knew I had to run my own race and not get sucked into running someone else’s race. I’d looked at the route and could see there was a few hills to contend with.

I arrived and collected my race number before starting my warm up. Just as I finished my warm up the race briefing should’ve started, but then they announced they were delaying the start! Not ideal since it was so cold but managed to keep moving to stay warm.

The race finally got going and began up a gradual climb. As I got to the first marshal point I learned I was second female. This was a bit of a shock as first was only a short way ahead and I wasn’t expecting to be anywhere near! As I went over the top of the first climb, third place female joined me and we kept switching positions for most of the race. I would catch and pass her on the more technical muddy parts and the downhill sections and she would catch and pass me on any uphill section.

At the base of the last climb we were side by side but she got a gap quite quickly. The last climb was quite a long one but I knew from around 9km it was downhill to the finish. I tried to keep the gap between us as small as possible to give me more chance of closing it back again on the downhill but it wasn’t to be. I finished 3rd female in a time of 49:45.

Kim Baptista