MENTION the name of Much Wenlock and it's hard to imagine that this small Shropshire town would have a major impact on the sporting world - but it has.

In fact, many would claim that it's thanks to Much Wenlock, a stone's throw from Shrewsbury, that the modern Olympic Games came into being.

William Penny Brooks came from the town, was an ardent avocate for physical education in schools and in 1850 he formed the Olympian class to "promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants for the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock, and especially the working classes, by the encouragement of outdoor recreation and by the award of prizes annually at public meetings of skill in athletic exercises and proficiency in intellectual and industrial ataintment."

In other word, Dr Brookes started up a sports day in Wenlock in October 1850 with a mixture of athletics and old country sports such as cricket, football and quoits.

However, Dr Brookes' dream was to revive the ancient Olympic Games, and in 1889, Baron de Coubertin visited the Wenlock Olympian Games. During his visit to Much Wenlock, Brookes shared his ideas for an international Olympic Games with the young French aristocrat, and this inspired Coubertin to set up a conference at the Sorbonne at which he organised a revival of the ancient Olympic Games.

Sadly, Brookes died in 1895, just four months before the first revived modern Olympic Games were held in 1896 in Athens.

But his name lives on and the Wenlock Olympian Society has heled Games in the village ever since.

This weekend, the 121st annual Wenlock Olympian Games were held with bowls, tennis, badminton, triathlon,fencing, archery, clay pigeon shooting, five-a-side football, volleyball, cricket, cycling, golf and....wait for it...a seven-mile road race.

I drove up from a crisp and dry Southampton just before 6am and by the time I arrived in the midlands the rain was sheeting it down. The poor athletics competitors on the cinder track were drenched, and officials had all sorts of problems getting cars parked on the school playing fields up a short and steep hill to the exit.

As for the road race, the runners took cover in a tea hut, under trees or in their cars until the sounding of a shrill whistle five minutes from the start.

We lined up with the rain soaking through our clothes and we were off. The first two miles were pretty hilly. I had been off work for most of last week with flu, and for the first 400 metres I felt great. For the remaining 6.8 miles I felt dreadful!

Runners headed past me until I settled in midfield playing hare and tortoise with one runner who was rubbish going up hills, whereas I am a reasonable hill climber, and then she tore past me going downhill.

A succession of hills came and past on a route which circled the Shropshire town before finally dropping down hill and running through the picturesque surroundings with its Tudor homes and narrow streets.

For me, this race was about surviving. Ordinarily I would have skipped running at Much Wenlock because I was not well, and I came close to pulling out. But this was one race which is steeped in history and needs to be among the 80 races.

The last mile was a switchback through some woods and back onto the school playing fields to the finish.

I managed to sprint ahead of the hare having eked out a lead with the final uphill stretch. I've no idea about time - somewhere around 53 minutes, since I forgot to stop my watch.

Wet and weary, I trooped back to the car, glad i had packed a towel.