Mike Anton writes….
Not only did Mr Phillips bag 5th place on the Eastern Counties CA 100 with an excellent 3:55:11, but he also broke his own club Vets record from 2003.
He’d previously clocked 3:55:42 so using this ‘local’ course obviously helped.
The E2/100 roughly follows the M11 north before heading along the A11 /
A14 round Newmarket. Only 75 miles of it is dual carriageway, the rest being a scenic and rolling jaunt through NW Essex.
I was off at 5:38 with Brian 10 mins behind me. The early start was
appreciated in the hot weather though a slightly later kickoff would have
been nice for the extra shuteye.
I was happily bumbling along when Mr P caught me at 50 miles. I couldn’t
even hang on to him as we went round the turn roundabout! So having waved
him goodbye I carried on at a reasonable pace until toe cramp set in.
Things went rapidly downhill from there and I eventually wandered in to 15th
place with 4:12:32.
Brian’s three minute man caught him in the
closing stages but he said afterwards that he employed a bit of road racing tactics and managed to pass him in the final mile.
Now bearing in mind Brian rides a fixed that’s no mean feat!
1st Ken Platts Cambridge CC 03:46:31 2nd Paul Smith Api-Metrow 03:48:47 3rd Paul Holdsworth Hounslow & District 03:52:20 4th Neil Wass Verulam CC 03:53:43 5th Brian Phillips East Grinstead 03:55:11 15th Mike Anton East Grinstead 04:12:32
Have a look at pictures from last year’s event