Wymeswold Waddle

Paul Davis was the sole Grantham Running Club representative at the 13th annual Wymeswold Waddle on Sunday 5th May. The pretty Leicestershire village is famed for its Wymeswold Duck Race each spring and the Waddle forms part of the day long series of duck themed activities,  including a 2KM 'Duckling Dash' for under 15s and a family fun run alongside a traditional village fête.

The sell out five mile Waddle saw three hundred runners line up for the start of the five mile road course outside the Windmill Inn in near perfect cool, calm conditions. The out and back course sent runners out along closed country lanes on a gently upward trajectory, climbing 57 meters before the halfway turn and the reward of a predominantly downhill return leg.

As a first timer at the race with no knowledge of the course other than 'it goes up a bit out of the village,’ Paul ran the opening half of the race conservatively and had enough left in the tank at the turn to push hard back to the finish, coming home a respectable fiftieth overall in 36:00.

First to cross the line in a time of 26:07 was Bruce Raeside of Kimberley and District Striders with Hannah Oldroyd of Ribble Valley Harriers first lady in a time of 29:03.

Later Paul commented: “I'm fairly happy with my time today considering all things. More important than the time was how much I enjoyed the event and how smoothly it was run. It’s definitely a race I’d recommend to all.”