Angie Sadler reports on her international debut....
I felt privileged to be asked to be part of the English team as after I qualified at the Boddington 50k, and I can say it was an amazing experience!The team were so much younger than myself -- but a unique friendly bunch of guys!! So good to spend time with the names we hear of so often --- Dominic Croft (came in 2nd -- 3.08.52) Rod Harris etc. My race was strong, slower than Boddingtons, due to being extremely hot. The course was 5 laps and very twisty! My time was 3hr 49mins and I felt good at the finish. (5th lady home, 17th overall out of 50 that had gone there qualified.) The whole trip was long - from Amsterdam it was 280miles on 5 different trains, time to get to know all the team & managers well! I stayed with a great family with Louise Cooper who came in at Boddington just in front of me -- but I came in 5mins in front of her in Holland! (She 's a great girl!). Winschoten has this event every year with the major attraction of about 80 runners in the 100k, they decorate every street with flags from all countries, people sit out all day cheering us on. It was good to have the experience. Now do I go for a 100k in 2008!!