Sarah's route and analysis

I had bad runs at the two events preceding the Mountain Marathon so I picked up my map without a lot of confidence.

I took #1 easy and made sure I concentrated until I punched it. Was a bit confused going into the circle by all the rocks but saw the flag as I approached the boulder cluster.

#2 was easy. Could almost see the flag from #1.

#3 involved crossing the river then heading up the small hill. First real intro to the thorns. Easy feature to spot once you got close.

#4: Ouch! No choice but to go through the wall of thorns. Got quite distracted by the thorns so lost focus. I stopped short and was uncertain in the circle.

#5: A big route choice leg. My plan was good but I didn't execute it well. First objective was to get down the hill as quickly as possible ie avoiding the thorns. Next I had to get across the river. Then I ran along the path parallel to the river, turned right at the junction. The plan was to leave the path and head up the hill after the big kink in the path. I lost concentration while trying to figure out a route to #6 and I stopped short. Felt like I'd been running for ages and wondered if I could trust the 'old' map. Headed up the hill with not a lot of confidence. Got to the top eventually and stood around for a bit before realizing it was dead simple.

For #6 I tried to contour and avoid green. Paths were helpful. Wasn't 100% sure which thickets were marked.

#7: Ran on a bearing. Got to the flat bit and headed to where I thought the control would be. Wasn't there, but I spotted the flag to the right.

#8: Path took me right in.

#9: Bit of a wobble. Ran round the east of the ruins planning to run along the out of bounds area but plan changed when I saw the thorns. Stayed on the path for as long as I could before heading in. Bare rock was further down the hill than I expected.

#10: Bit uncertain as the long grass hid the wall, but hit it okay.

#11, 12: Relatively straight forward and my legs were feeling surprisingly decent.

Was relieved that I had an enjoyable run. Had lots of hesitations though. I'm still stopping short a lot due to loss of concentration and then lack of confidence.

Ian ran the same course in about one hour and 10 minutes I think. Almost 20 minutes faster than me! Crazy. I've got a lot to work on. Doing a leg by leg analysis definitely helps identify where I can improve.