Kymin Dash (or should that be Kymin Krawl?)

While Esther and Lou were battling the heat and hills of Bath (well done to both!) a contingent of Harriers took part in the traditional “Kymin Dash” race in Monmouth.

This race of “around 7 miles” (my GPS measured 6.5) starts with a loop of the town before a three mile climb to the top of the Kymin (around 850 feet above sea level) on lanes, forest tracks and fields. Apparently some people managed to run the whole way up, but I gave in to lack of fitness early on and walked (which was hard enough in that heat)!

Having finally reached the top (after several false summits) it was back onto the road for the thrilling descent. Apparently the road used to be quite tricky due to pot holes, but it has been re-surfaced and was very fast - I clocked a PB in the first downhill mile, slowing only for the hair-pin bends as I attempted to make up time following my capitulation on the climb.

Back down the hill to town, a quick loop round and there was the finish, ably manned by, amongst others, Chepstow’s own Syd Wheeler and Sue Browne.

Results are not up on the site (www.kymindash.co.uk) yet, but first Chepstow runner home (and third overall) was Ivan, followed by Matt Stott, myself, Gerry, Sue, Roberta and Eric. In the team event, we tied for second place with Parc Bryn Bach (first 3 home out of 4).

It was a tough run (though a rewarding second half!) and the heat was terrible - but the sun was out, the support was great and there were some beautiful views. It’s a little pricey at £10 on-the-day, but I think I might be back one day (after all, I’m sure I could run up that hill if I was a little bit fitter…).

Well worth considering for next year!

This entry was posted on 28/07/2008 at 11:56 am and is filed under Races. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.