DNS - Harder than racing?

This weekend both halves of Tyne and Weary should have been joining some 500 entrants to compete at the 60+mile Fellsman, however, Adam will be on the start line without me this year.

The Fellsman was my favourite race of 2011 and despite being confident that I could complete the course this year and post a reasonable time, I have made a difficult decision to not race in order to aid the recovery of my injured ankle.

This will be my first ever "Did Not Start" and it continues to be hard to take. I have always seen other people's backing out of competitions as the easy option, a weakness, especially if it is a result of a lack of determination to train and/or compete, or sometimes simply if the weather forecast isn't favourable..! However, it really is a hard decision to turn your back on what you know to be such a highlight, an incredible race that you have trained hard for and built up to, a race that you know would have provided the platform for bigger and better things to come. I know I will be missing out on sharing a fantastic day in the hills with some very good friends, and I will no doubt be missing out on a chance to be part of a winning team (IcedSpicedCollective) and the temptations of the prizes that we would be rewarded with.

My decision has followed a lot of thought, forcing myself to look at the bigger picture, focussing on my priorities for the coming months and reflecting on lessons learnt in the past. Competing with existing injuries has previously led to long term lay offs (OMM 2011) and after the Highlander Mountain Marathon two weeks ago my current injuries recovery has been less than ideal.

Needless to say I will be entering again next year, but for now, my impending Bob Graham attempt will continue to be my focus and I will do my best to follow the fine line that is the compromise between training sufficiently and nursing an injury to the start line.

After these reflections the cons of 60+miles over Yorkshire's finest eventually outweighed the pros and instead of the Fellsman this weekend I will satisfy myself with a non competitive trip to the Lakes.