Car parking was well organised and plentiful with spillage parking (and shopping) available at the nearby Lidl and Tescos. The field must have been well drained as it seemed drier than the roads!? There was an abundance of runners milling around quite early on with lots of families taking part in the fun run. No such fun however for those of us attempting the 10 miler, I signed up, picked up my chip and waited for more Quakers to arrive.

The refreshments were on the steep side, I wondered about the T&S harrier’s coffers as I handed over £1 for a cup of tea – I suppose if Costa can charge that...

Despite the warnings on the website, it seemed there was an abundance of entries available on the day and well over a hundred people seemed to have signed up. Always a good sign! There were loads of Quakers starting to congregate in the Grimlock hall. Talk was of the championship and the rain as we waited for 11am to arrive. As I was starting my warm up Dave warned me about my iPod, which was apparently banned in this race. Not wanting to risk disqualification, I threw it back in the car; just in case!

The race itself started with a mass gathering in the stand of the race course. All the runners, there were loads of us, were shepherded through a small gate to make our way to the start line. I took the opportunity to sneak behind the woodshed and make myself a little lighter before starting a brisk jog to the start line. There wasn’t enough room for the sheer mass of people who were crowded at the start, I had to walk along a hedgerow to the sub 70 minute “pen” (bloke holding a sign). I could hear discussions about “the start” and suddenly we were off! No warning, no gun, no noise, just off! Many of us started our watches long before we went over the chip timing pads, which weren’t very clearly visible. The start was a absolute mess with about ¾ of puddles and standing water making it dangerous as people weaved through puddles looking for dry terra firma. I was clipped twice and almost went tumbling!

The race soon spread out and by mile two, everything and everyone was nicely spread out. Sans iPod and sans crowds or people, it was very much an atmosphere of hedgerows. Running down B roads is hardly thrilling, but I guess that’s the price of a good quick 10 mile race! I noticed quite quickly, that my Garmin wasn’t lapping on the mile markers. Normally it’s a good couple of metres out, but it was sometimes about 100-200 metres in front of the marker!? I used this as a positive and continued running hard.

Shortly after mile seven, we turned up a road and headed up for the loop. I like loops, especially long ones, as I was able to see all the front runners coming in and cheer when I saw other Quakers coming back through! This really helped for the last mile. The final mile was a good long run, flat and very quick paced! There were supporters cheering us on and it was great to finish! As a bit of a techy I loved the “beep” I got when I crossed the line! Finished with a new ten mile PB, which I was very happy with! The T shirt at the end was decent enough and there was loads of free water!

I congratulated Wayne for his race and championship win. Dave, Brian, Noel and Steve were the other front runners looking suitably tired and proud of themselves. 

Overall, the race served the purpose of being a fast 10 miler with bags of PB potential. On a sunnier/drier day the conditions would have been perfect! The organisers would probably admit the start was a little unorganised, but with the sheer mass of people for such a small race it could be expected. The course, although uninspiring, was varied enough and as a welcome change from some of the more urban road races. I enjoyed myself and will return next year to will return next year for sure!