Not the Gralloch… 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

So today should have been race day. Gralloch UCI Gravel Race. One of my favourite events and something I’ve done for the past 3 years (but have a checkered history with…).

Year 1 - slashed sidewall after 28km when in 3rd place. Not repairable, DNF.
Year 2 - really strong race, 7th.
Year 3 - felt awful. Crawled round. Found out later that I had glandular fever.
Year 4 - DNS.

Why didn’t I start? Well, it’s complicated and I don’t think I have the word limit to go into it here. But I’d been questioning whether to ride for several days and that alone was enough for me to realise that I probably shouldn’t race. I’ve had enough instances in the past of starting a race that I haven’t been sure about and at no point has it resulted in my feeling better (physically or mentally) afterwards. So for once I made a sensible choice. I protected some of my mental wellbeing and I went training. I watched my friend Hanna start, took her extra kit, went for a ride and then met her afterwards at the finish.

There’s a part of me that’s sad I missed The Gralloch this year, but I also know deep down that it was the right call. The race will still be there next year and I will make sure I’m in the right place to be able to compete.

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