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Keynsham Dandy 12.5 Miles Trail Race Review

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On Sunday I took part in the Keynsham Dandy 12.5 miles trail race organised by TACH (Town and Country Harriers). It was a very wet day but an enjoyable event. Kinisi Run Hub were an event sponsor and supported with a pop-up shop and provided race vouchers as prizes.

It was very much a trail race but there was a bit of tarmac thrown in to make it a real multi-terrain race. The course started off fairly gently, just over some light trails and gravel paths for the first few miles. However, it soon got a lot messier, partly due to all the recent rain.

At about 3 miles we hit a water logged field full of cows and then it turned into a proper trial race. Not long after that was our first river crossing which was more of a river walk. We had to wade waist deep up-stream through freezing cold water for a good few hundred meters. The cold was a bit of a shock at first but after a couple of minutes you get used to it.

There was some more running through muddy fields including a few corn fields which was very narrow and definitely not what you’d expect in a race. Then we came to the second stream crossing but this one was just knee deep. It was the same drill again but wading down stream which made it a bit easier.

After that there was a bit more running through fields before we got to a road a couple of miles out and finally had a decent stretch of uninterrupted running. A few water logged fields later we arrived back at the finish. Just as people were funnelling through the finish there was a massive downpour but everyone was already so wet it didn’t really make a difference and if anything added to the atmosphere.

We started and finished at the New Inn in Keynsham and the course was well marked with plenty of marshals at key points. The race supported the Keynsham Food Bank so was for a worthy cause. All 162 finishers received a medal which is always appreciated.

I managed to take the win in 1:33:57 with Rhys Goddard (Vegan Runners) finishing second in 1:35:07 and Matt Barnes (Southville RC) third in 1:36:49. Katie Vooght (Bitton Road Runners) won the women’s race in 1:52:28 followed by Lynette Porter (Bitton Road Runners) and Francesca Knapper (Bristol & West AC). There was also a canicross competition won by Pavel Teklinski (TACH) and Wendy Falk (Somerset Canicross). Full results here.

Well done to everyone who raced and thank you TACH (Town and Country Harriers) for hosting a great event!