Well, turning up to the start with 536 other people, to find that the only other person not wearing an athletics club vest is Dexy5 , suggests that the decision to enter this race may not have been the best idea I've had recently. Too late now though .....
52'26" later, with a cowbell round my neck and a post-covid PB on my spreadsheet, things seemed a whole heap better. 283rd overall wasn't too shabby either, but I could only manage 6th out of 9 in my MV70 category. It does seem as though proper runners who keep going, keep going well - the MV70 winner was over 7 minutes down the road ahead of me. Interestingly, looking at the results 4th to 7th in my category were all within just 15 seconds of my time.
It was a very pleasant 3-lap course in a beautiful setting (Royal Victoria Country Park on the edge of Southampton Water), a mix of tarmac, gravel and grass underfoot, with a short hill rather too close to the finish for my liking. Weather conditions were ideal, dry and mostly overcast with no wind to speak of. The event was brilliantly organised by the host club and Dexy and I spent a couple of enjoyable post-run hours exploring the park, and the chapel which is the only surviving remnant of what was a huge military hospital. This involved climbing 167 (iirc) steps to the top of the chapel bell tower - not the most sympathetic of warm-down activities.
Anyway, I'm sure Dexy will be expounding her take on the day at considerable length elsewhere, so I'll just sign off by claiming this for my HU 10k, my watch thinking I only ran 9.91k notwithstanding!
Chichester 10K complete!