‘Piece of Cake’ Trail Half Marathon
A ‘How Hard Can It Be’ event, the Piece of Cake Half Marathon is a trail run in the picturesque Carding Mill Valley in Church Stretton, Shropshire. The ascents never seem to feel quite as vicious as the May Fourth half earlier in the year, but it’s a similar style of route with the bonus of a fantastic 2(ish) mile downhill stretch to the finish, which makes for an adrenaline-rush if you are brave enough to pelt down the gravel paths at speed.
I ran the Piece of Cake on my own (for someone who claims to be a social runner I’ve suddenly been entering a lot of races on my lonesome), although there wasn’t a single part of the course where I felt anything but part of a massive community. I cannot emphasise enough how brilliant these events are for camaraderie, support and general low-pressure “have a great time” running.
I ran PoC in brand new Vivobarefoot Primus Trail SG (mens, because the women’s are never wide enough) which apparently makes me a nutter because normal people break in running shoes before taking them out on a 13 mile run?
I finished in an awesome (for me) 3:02:07, although I was so stiff afterwards I didn’t move for the rest of the day.