Brass Monkey Race 3&4 2013

As many people now know, I have been experiencing issues with my heart over the past few months. Due to this I decided not to race in the Brass Monkey Series this weekend but rather help out by guiding novices and beginners down the river. For me it was a hard decision to step back and take it easy after several years of competing at a high intensity and relatively high level in Cross Country Mountain Biking and now Multisport. This forced break will be good for me as I will be able to sort out my priorities and focus on uni while I undergo tests to see whats happening with my body.

The "race" itself was pretty fun for me still. A good river level with a couple of fun little features to ensure I was paying attention to what I was doing (unlike my near swim at the start infront of an eager crowd). In the end I think I finished around the 57:30 mark, but the time is irrelevant to me as I was helping out a beginner.

I have to admit it was quite weird today having people pass me that I would normally never really see during a race or if I did happen to see them, I would be passing them. I think they quite enjoyed it! It was nice though to be surrounded by so many familar faces and to be able to support them and recognise how much effort these people put into their racing while still having fun. It was also a good opportunity to be able to see the top guys coming through and see how much faster they are relative to me. I personally feel I gained more from today than I ever do from racing and I got to help out a first time Brass Monkey competitor in the process.

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