This is one of those races I entered for fun, with very little thought going into it. I knew it'd be a three hour drive to Denbies for this one, but what I hadn't thought about was the start time. I'd thought it'd be 09:00, or even 10:00 which would mean I wouldn't need to be up too early. However, the race start would need to be no later than 08:30, and even then, that'd mean leaving home no later than 05:00. Whilst it'd have been well worth the early start that'd have meant regardless, I decided that it'd better to arrive at the start having had a decent night of sleep. So, after the usual Sunday roast, I drove down to a hotel near Cobham, just off the M25 junction. I had considered running there on the Sunday as well, but thought it best I didn't on this occassion. There'd be other races!

I was only twenty minutes away from the venue, and surprisingly this hotel was incredibly quiet - it was the best nights sleep I've had in a hotel this year. The view out of the window wasn't too bad either - I could see some stables with horses in the field, and a lake with ducks swimming across. With the window closed it felt peaceful, and even with it open the sound of traffic wasn't all that bad. I left out at 07:30 and it was probably a good job as when I reached the first roundabout off the M25 I took the wrong turn, but didn’t realise I had straight away as I ended up going through a village, but eventually found myself back at the same roundabout. I didn’t know that until I took the same wrong turn, and this time turned around in an entrance and took the right one! It’s not too hard to find Denbies Winery after that - the parking for runners was just to the right of the normal parking, but apparently it’s also okay to use the normal one.

For facilities, they were using the main building, but the receptionist there kept closing the door saying “we’re closed,” until Rik (race director) had managed to have a word with her about it. It was an amusing start to the day, so not something to whine about. When fellow #visorclub member Carmen arrived we got ready to run, and set off along the path at the front of a row of grape vines. There is then a left turn which begins the first of the ascents. Carmen, having done this hilly course yesterday too (legend!), advised when would be best for running/walking, and we began to walk about half way up the hill at the point where there’s a yellow sign. Taking an ultra marathon strategy here would work well considering we’d both had a racing double weekend. We're alongside the North Downs Way, so it gives an idea for the sort of terrain we were on.

The end of this trail ends before reaching Ashcombe Wood - there’s no running through trees here! Instead, it goes between two rows of vines and eventually levels off a little. At the next turn it’s another up-hill. This one is a very chalky ascent so could get quite messy in wet weather. This is then followed by a turn into short fast downhill stretch, and then a slightly slower downhill straight into two left turns where you can see back up the second of the hills before turning right, and back down to a short stretch where you pass oncoming runners as you return to the start to finish the first lap. This is the best chance to cheer on other runners whilst out on the course.

The laps ticked by fast, and before I knew it, we were on the fourth and final lap that would take us up to a half marathon distance. I think on this lap I could feel the hills a little more, and may not have been thinking completely straight as I did almost manage to make a wrong turn. Thankfully this was caught quickly and continued on to the finish, where we both rung the bell to signal we were done. At the finish I had some water, and an ice lolly to rehydrate after spending a few hours out in the sun. It is a fairly exposed course, but we barely felt any wind at all, and thankfully it was cooler than it had been the last couple of days. For Ready Teddy Run, we got a nicely carved wooden medal, and a handmade bear that says Phoenix Running on the head. As all seventy were hand-made it does mean that every single one is a little different - the talented person who made them pointed this out to me before the race start. I won't talk about times or positions for this race, as that's not what it's about here for me - it's about the enjoyment of it, and having good company to enjoy it with.

It was nice to have a chatty race, and it's a course I think I'm likely to do again sometime, despite the hills. I was told there's also a parkrun here, so maybe one day I could do that on a Saturday, and a Phoenix Running race on the Sunday… we'll see though!