The Seven Sins Trail and Canicross (29.12.17)

The Seven Sins in Blakeney, Forest of Dean is a great way to get over the excess in the break between Christmas and the New Year. It’s a race comprising seven hills over seven miles, with a lot of mud. It includes tunnel and river crossings, too.

After recent snow and rain, one of the tunnel crossings on the course was ruled out, along with one of the river crossings. But, with plenty of snow still on the course and temperatures still only just above freezing, the race presented a real challenge to all those taking part.

CLC Striders’ Ed Thompson was in the first wave of racers to set off and he had a great race, finishing 8th in his age category in a time of 1:24:51.

Meanwhile, Betty the border terrier and her owner Andrew Paterson were in the second (Canicross) wave. With streams too full of melt water for little Betty’s legs to manage, Andrew had to provide extra assistance on some occasions. But the intrepid pair finished 3rd overall in an amazing time of 1:10:15.

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Pictured: Andrew Paterson carrying Betty through one of the tunnels on the Seven Sins course as part of the Canicross event.

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