Earlier in the week I had requested some Northern rain be sent south for my poor parched garden. Unfortunately, it arrived on Friday, the day of the Charing 10k. This meant my supporters bailed out at the last minute (can’t say I blamed them) but in fact we ran in a dry window between showers. My rain deflecting hat turned out to be unnecessary.
I had read about the climb in the middle of the loop and it didn’t disappoint but I did not stop and in fact overtook three people on the way up. After drinking/wearing a cup of water (drinking from an open cup while running is tricky) I set off on the return leg which was pleasantly undulating along the Pilgrim’s Way and then a gentle downhill.
Running past the start/finish point and hearing the announcer calling out the names of finishing runners was a bit of a killer (would anyone notice if I jumped over the school fence?) but before long I had looped back round and it was my name they were calling! Big wave and sprint for the line.
My friend Nathan had hung around waiting for me (he’s a sub-4-hour Marathon kind of guy) and I went to look for the promised barbecue, coffee and CAKE. None to be found (I blame the weather), just a man in the school hall giving out the prizes. I have a bit of work to do before I stand a chance of winning one of them, but I did record a 10k PB which I was dead chuffed with given the horrid hill.
This was a nice, small, low key event. It’s a shame the weather ruined additional fund-raising opportunities for the primary school. There is always next year!
PS Nice bling too
HUHM 10K race report
Virtual 10K race report
HU 10k Race Report
