Racing on home ground
Racing on your own home patch can have it's advantages and it's disadvantages! If you are running a road or fell race where you know the route, or orienteering in a familiar area, I find it does give you a slight advantage - you know the hard bits of the course, the 'stings in the tail', the narrow bits, the wet bits, the scenic bits. You know where the finish is, and you know when to start the drive for home! You can also get complacent - too busy racing, and you miss that turn! Just like I did last Sunday! The race from The Eskdale in Castleton has had various names and various routes over the years, and I don't manage to do it every year, but I do train around many parts of the course on a regular basis. I really ought to know the whole route like the 'back of my hand' (but then, how much time do YOU spend studying the back of YOUR hand!) Anyway, I'd set off fairly steadily up the hill to checkpoint 1, worked a bit harder to 2, and got into my running...