We feel so privileged to run in such a sensitive environment but as the two organisers are part of the New Forest community, they are very strict about protecting the area. Anyone dropping a paper water cup outside of a marked zone, dropping litter anywhere, or not complying with the Forest Code on the course is disqualified. It is so lovely to run along woodland paths , closed roads and trails that have gates open which are normally closed.
Volunteers along the route and in the race village are Guides, Scouts and other local groups who all benefit from the grants allocated by the race organisers. A shuttle bus runs from the railway station to reduce the cars on the road and they have a campsite where runners can stay in tents and motor homes. Campers might pop their head out of the tent in the morning to see deer grazing. All family members can take part as races range from a woodland walk with your pooch up to full marathon. Kids activities area and musical entertainment on a stage in the race village keeps everyone entertained while eating and drinking produce from the many traders onsite. It is a favourite for UpTheStanley and me and yesterday was our 3rd time running the 10k.
This time we were going to meet linda9389 and Mudita11 again and SueAppleRun for the first time with her friend Happy Hays. We don’t run together but it’s nice to meet up for a short time if we are in the same place.
We were worried about the heat after a very hot Saturday but it was forecast to be cloudy until 12.00 when there would be showers. We had drunk lots of water and zero high5 in the days leading up so we’re well hydrated.
After a great warm up session at 10.45 we were off to the start line in approximate finish time order. Linda was with me for all of a nano second, and we hadn’t got far before light rain started and continued most of the race. It was better than bright sunshine but it was almost tropical in the heat. I was sweating like mad and was glad I had my buff to wipe my face. I could see Mudita bobbing along ahead of me for most of the run until I slowed down at 8k and she probably sped up! I got to chat to lots of lovely lone runners from different parts of the country along the way. After much run/walking at the end (I hate running on that polo pitch!), I summoned the strength to run in what seemed like a never ending finish line back in the village, with friends and families of runners cheering everyone on. I saw UTS before he saw me! The heavens then opened as I picked up my medal, banana, T-shirt and zero high 5 tablet to add to a cup of water (a zingy lemon which I hadn’t tried before). Looking like a drowned rat, I picked up my rucksack (fortunately in a plastic bag) and took cover in a marshal’s tent to change T-shirts and put my waterproof jacket on.
It was great to see everyone on a running high at the end . Sue having done her first official race, and Hayley graduating c25k in the 5k race. Mudita11 came in with an excellent time. We missed Linda at the end as she had to take her dad back to the hotel and get dry. I did feel for the families who hadn’t prepared for a rain storm.
One post run photo and then after everyone else had left the sun came out and we dried off a bit. UTS had hog roast bap and I had an apple cinnamon crepe with coffees and continued drinking copious amounts of water while we listened to the entertainment. We’d got sunglasses from one of the sponsors which went perfectly with this year’s fluorescent shirt. It was so funny seeing everyone sporting the same look around the grounds. A bit like a Where’s Wally picture!
Sadly, we also had a visit from the air ambulance to collect one of the entrants. We know nothing about the circumstances but are glad that treatment was immediately available by the ambulance on site and he was transferred to hospital by helicopter rather than via the heavily congested roads.
For interest I compared my last 3 results:
2019. Strava 1.14:33 av pace 7:22. Chip time 1.18:36
2022 Strava 1.19:31 av pace 7:52. Chip time 1.19:35
2023 Strava 1.19:35 av pace 7:52. Chip time 1.19:42
The 2019 race shows how I would have had a wonderful chip time had we not had to wait for a flock of ponies stampeding across our path in the early stage of our run (I have auto pause on my watch). But that is the New Forest for you. The temperature was 14C when we started in 2019 , which was a wonderful running temperature compared to 21C and 23C in the following events. UTS has also pointed out that I was also 4 years younger. 😢
When we looked at the results at home, we found that UTS was 2nd in his age group of 15 runners. However, on closer inspection it looks like that is based on gun time. When looking at chip time, which is fairer, we found he was first by 27 seconds, so we have asked the organisers to check that when issuing 1st place awards. Well done to him.
Sorry, this was going to be a shorter post but turned out not to be. Hopefully you haven’t dropped off. 😂
Written by
Dexy5
10 Miles
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Well done Dexy. I bet you were truly grateful for that rain, despite ending up like a drowned rat. It’s still scorching hot in the south of France and I have wilted somewhat. Sent Mr C off to take pictures from the church that sits on top of a rock across Marseille harbour, you can spot where he’s going on the photo of the view from our hotel window that he put on WhatsApp. I had some pangs of regret to not be home and watching the rugby on tv and doing nice things like going to the New Forest to support my running friends, rather than surviving the chaos at Marseille stadium on Saturday night!
Yes that rain was a godsend but still a bit steamy. Nothing like you are having to contend with in the south of France though. You booked that trip thinking your treatment would be over and you would be regaining your strength. Who knew that there would be a heatwave to top it off? Waiting an hour to get into the stadium on Saturday would not have helped.
I hope things improve for you over there, and you also get to eat some nice meals.
We know you are supporting us wherever you are. You’d have looked like a drowned rat too if you’d been here. UTS’s horns went limp in the rain and he had to hold them up in the photo 😂
We actually booked it long before the mammogram that kick started all of it off, but didn’t worry as more instalment payments became due last year, expecting I would be through treatment. But my oncologist has been great about working round it, and our return for the semi finals and finals. As for the weather and the poor local event management, Hey ho. It’s down to a slightly more manageable 27 degrees now, having been 34 on Friday and Saturday. Scheduled to be similar through the rest of our stat.
Hopefully the horns will dry out, I am sure they will be needed at the GSR and we will be supporting you all at that.
Well done, both of you. You get 🏅 for perseverance and UTS gets one from me for performance as well. 🏅🏅
I had hoped to pop over to see if I could spot runners I knew, but the heat, rain and traffic combined to make me feel it would be unfair on my houseguest - she is less inured to the vagaries of NF weather, due to living in California! But so glad you made it and enjoyed it. 🎉
Oh yes it would have been lovely to have seen you again Granspeed but standing in the rain for hours would not have been the best way to treat your guest. I hope you are keeping well.
Yes, thanks. On a much more even keel these days. Just saw your Virtual Vitality post. Looked so fun! I’m walking a lot & hoping to be jogging more than casually soon. xx
What a wonderfully informative post Dexy5 and what a great day you had, it was lovely to meet you all and run in such a beautiful setting, your times are awesome and 4 years older or not if it hadn't been sweltering and humid I'm certain you'd have run faster. Glad the sun came out and you enjoyed the rest of the day both of you
Thanks Sue. We finally got to the end of the Really ,Awesome Coffee queue. People had ignored the pleas to bring cash and they were having problems with card payments. Glad you both had fun.
Congratulations to you Dexy5 and UpTheStanley on completing the New Forest 10K despite the warm and wet conditions, those are lovely photos, I just hope the runner that the helicopter had to be called for is OK, interesting regarding your previous times, as UpTheStanley pointed out, you were 4 years younger, my parkrun times are also getting a little slower too as I get older as well, my last sub 31 minutes time was last year, however, for some unknown reason, my 3/10K runs, two for the London Vitality Virtual 10,000 in 2021 and 2022 and that Cumbernauld 10k of last week have been slightly quicker
2021:-1:11:40
2022:-1:09:50
2023:-1:09:22,
So there's still some life left in my running legs, my plan for my running up to the end of November is to run a few 8K's, perhaps a 10 miles run which I wish you luck for the Great South Run and "perhaps" another half marathon to end my running for this year apart from a Saturday morning parkrun.
That’s a great time in the heat and almost identical to last year. In fact brilliantly consistent overall. Well done! It sounds like a lovely event and very well organised. I love that the organisers take so much care to minimise the impact on the forest. Maybe one to put on the calendar 🤔
As I was running it I was asking myself why am I so unfit that I’ve got to keep walking in that last 15 minutes? But then looking at the stats I did exactly the same last year. Hence the similar results. Now I’ve looked at the temperatures I can understand why . When I did my gentle 11k training run in the heat last week I ran all but my drinking breaks but my 10k time was 1.24:21. The stats do help to understand what’s going on. 🤔
I thought of you when I saw the camper vans but I know how close it is to your French holidays.
Oh well done Dexy and everyone and a special well done to UpTheStanley for his result! Great photos and fab looking bling 😍
It sounds a gorgeous location with much to look at during the race and afterwards. I love the matching tops and sunglasses 😎 It must have looked like a huge running club with people walking around in the same kit 😂
It would have made it very difficult to find a friend IP! Luckily I could spot UTS with his hat on. I thought the glasses would be just for show, but they are cat 3 rating , so will protect our eyes. We might just wear them at parkrun on Saturday. 😂
It was a shame about the weather for the families. I hope the traders managed to keep their stock dry, and did enough business to make a profit.
A great report and run Dexy. That sounds like a great event catering for all, and you all had a brilliant time.Congrats to UTS on his outstanding time, hope that he gets the recognition and bling he deserves.👏👏👏
Thank you Bluebirdrunner . Yes they really do it well. In our first year they were open on the Saturday too but after the pandemic closure it returned as a one day event. It’s great to see the kids wandering round in mum’s or dad’s T-shirt and medal.
I fancy coming along to that race one of these years Dexy! What a brilliant day you all had, and I’m so glad the weather was kind and gave you a little dowsing! It’s fabulous running in warm rain isn’t it? 💦
A lovely meetup too! HU has been incredible for forging firm friendships, all like minded (totally batty) people! 😅
GSR is only just over a month away. I have 2 week apart excitement steps building - Cheddar, Cardiff HM, GSR! 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Yes I was quite pleased when the rain started, but it was quite steamy under the trees. I’m glad we threw our rain jackets in our bags at the last minute though for after the race. Is it crazy cheddar this week?
Great report Dexy it looks like a very well organised, environmentally friendly race. Well done to you and UTS on your results. 👏👏 and a special mention to UTS's hat for its longevity, hope its dry and safe ready for its next outing😀
Sounds like a real community event Dexy. Glad you both had fun despite the weird weather and congratulations to UpTheStanley - hope his 'appeal' is successful!
Thanks JP. Apparently so many people swapped distances because of the weather they haven’t quite finalised the results yet, but the comment has been acknowledged . For some reason, the results come out in gun time rather than chip time. I guess it’s never mattered before.
Well done to you all! It's a good one to do ! I did the HM 6 years ago yesterday so my Facebook memory said ! Glad you all had a good experience despite the humidity! Well done UTS on his placing,he's super speedy xxx 😊🏃♂️⭐🏃♀️⭐xxx
Great report Dexy. Sounds a fantastic day in a wonderful setting, if rather steamy! The best bit must be meeting up with VRB's - fabulous. Well done all involved 👏 😃🤗🥵😎🥳🏃🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🐎🦌🌳☕🫔🍔🌞🌧!!
Oh I really enjoyed reading your report, it sounds a fabulous event. I think I'd be too distracted watching for ponies rather than running 😄 glad to hear that the sun came back out so that you could enjoy the entertainment. It's such a shame when the weather interferes with an event, organisers and traders put such effort and planning into it ☹️ Huge congratulations, a great day meeting up with other HU peeps as well 😊
Thank you Jackapoodle . Yes although we were grateful for rain , there were a lot of families without jackets. But at least the sun came out to dry us off.! I didn’t see ponies on my run but linda9389 had to stop twice for stampedes crossing. You wouldn’t know, looking at her time!
That’s a lovely report, Dexy. If I was still running those distances, this would definitely be one race I’d have to do. It sounds like so much fun and a wonderful atmosphere. Well done to UTS on his first place 👍, and well done to you all for finishing the race in one piece. I do hope that person who got air lifted was ok.
Thanks RunBrianRun, yes it is worrying to see an ambulance on the run but good to know that assistance was so quick when needed. I haven’t seen any updates on Facebook.
Yes UTS is chuffed that he was first out of 15 runners rather than 2 . He looked at your masters results for 5k but 20 mins is too fast for him . 😂
aww well done, great race report and pics. Sounds a superb day and always nice to meet up with other VRBs! Shame about that rain, although maybe at times it was a little refreshing. Had to feel for everyone who got caught in the downpours on Sunday. I knew a few people doing the great north run and apparently they got soaked 🙄 .
Thanks hedgehogs. The light shower during the run was nice although I didn’t know if I was wet from perspiration or rain! The downpour came just after finishing and I felt sorry for the volunteer trying to rip one zero tablet packets with wet hands! I think it was a lot worse in South Shields.
It was a great event and I'd love to do it again ... maybe the half next time. I thought I was with you for about a kilometre and that took a lot longer than a nano second 😍Your year on year time was amazing for the conditions. Huge congratulations. And to UTS too - how does he do it???
Ha Ha. You dashed ahead of me to wave to your Dad, but yes I do remember we were together a bit after that. You are so speedy that you were right to go on ahead after that. Maybe you can persuade UTS to do the HM with you next time. It would be great if you could enjoy the post run experience too.
I was amazed that there was only 7 seconds between 2 races when I looked back. Not quite the 69 minutes I quoted on my application . Maybe next year will be cooler and I can better that again.
Kind of you to say so, and I was certainly pleased with my result, but there are loads of VM70s about who would run that in around 45 mins. Inspired by Brian UK’s exploits, I looked at some VM70 Masters winning times at national level - sub-20 for 5k on the track, against my 25 on a good day at parkrun.
And the thought of a HM still scares me. I’m sure I can do the distance, but I’d want to go under 2 hours, and training for that would probably kill me!
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Forest of Dean HM Race Report
HU Spring 2023 10K - more hills, more forest, more birdsong
RunWisborough 10k ✔️🙂