Mags had a busy time over the Easter weekend running a 10k road race on Good Friday and a tough eight mile off roader on Easter Sunday. Her first race was the Salford 10k which she ran in very wet conditions. Her daughter, Sarah, who is coming back from injury, helped pace Mags to her best 10k time for two years, finishing in 54.16 to start the new season of club awards with a diamond time.
In the Bodmin 5 Tors, the second of her weekend races, Mags was joined by two other ORCs, Rob Hicks and Mervyn Rice. This is a challenging fell race of more than 8 miles, starting from Minions and taking in Tregarrick, Kilmar, Bearah and Sharp Tors plus the Cheesewring. It provides some of the most beautiful countryside Cornwall has to offer and the clear skies but cool breeze made for perfect running conditions. Rob Hicks was the first ORC home, flying round in 1hr and 23 secs to come 8th overall.
Mervyn was next, taking third MV60 and Mags took second place in her category, FV60, completing two good runs in three days. Her achievement is all the more impressive as Mags suffers from Parkinson’s Disease, and to bring people’s attention to Parkinson’s Awareness Week Mags swapped her club vest for a Parkinson’s vest which she earned by raising money for the charity last year. She knows only too well that drugs for the disease can only mask some of the symptoms, not stop or slow its progress and hopes that public support will help fund more research to develop better treatments.
Many thanks to Jane for the run report
