As the sun rose on the first Sunday of the challenge I was almost giddy with expectation and excitement (… or maybe that was due to a lack of breakfast?). The traditional long run day; would our intrepid Mountain Goat Athletes go long and still manage to find hills? Would the early leaders fade away… Or maybe some new contenders would emerge? By the time I got home from my own run, it was already shaping up into one heck of a day in the Strava Club 🙂 

The first Sunday was another awesome day weather wise, but also some awesome runs logged!

Today 22 athletes logged runs (that I have so far seen – apologies if I have missed any but they will get added as soon as I am aware of them). A Top Goat like run from Trevor logging 330m of ascent (check that one out on the Club Strava page!) and meaning that he takes the Fluffy Vest from Cat for day three. A further nine athletes logged over 100m and some new names in the mix now; Beth making a move for the lead pack with 184m today and Simon getting out there in vest and shorts for a recovery run with 161m. I saw this personally, and some things you just can never un-see 😉 Just joking!! awesome running again Simon! 

A few other shout-outs today: Viv has spotted that she is actually in a ‘race’ and started warming up, initially by getting  a new hair do… And then running a half today in 1:48 great running Viv! Kerry decided that she had had enough of her garden and decided to trot around some lakes (!!) 32.3k run in 3:54 – way to go Kerry!! And launching an attack today also was Sally who decided to follow Cat’s idea from yesterday and hill repped 137m… She tells me that I may no longer be on her Xmas card list!!! Sacrifices I make for sport 😉

So what does the Leader Board look like after the first weekend of competition?

The group has reformed! Simon (Olney Runners) continues to lead the challenge but Cat (Team Changing Paces) is still very much in touch with him after her recovery day (FFS!!). And a mammoth day Fell Running puts Trevor (club?) right in the mix now… Good to see some new names jostling for position with Hannah tucked in behind Trevor with some consistent runs, can she keep the early mornings going? And more consistent running from Linda too…

Beth (club not known) has pushed up the field today and is looking like she might have a race plan to take the win?

Ultra runner Stella (Wootton RR) has started her campaign too… showing that not only can she go stupidly long, but she can go uphill when she has to. But trying to build it up without drawing too much attention too soon. Smart racing 😉

So many great efforts today and personally I loved people contacting me to tell me about their runs – too much to write here!! I do hope you are all enjoying this crazy little game and lets carry on running safe (individually) for as long as we can. 

BIG NEWS: Tomorrow I will launch the first mini- challenge. I will post it on the Facebook page and it will run for just three days ending sunset Wednesday with the winner being announced on Thursday. And the winner will be getting a £5 voucher for their effort – not life changing I know, but let’s be honest it’s a step nearer to being a Pro runner right 😉

Here are the results after day 2