I ran this on Wednesday night. The weather was perfect. As I said to a fellow runner, it’s much nicer running a race in the summer in the evening knowing it will get cooler rather than a morning race when it will usually get hotter. This suited me perfectly 😎
It was a 730 start so I had a fairly lazy day and pottered around the garden. Well, apart from the dentist appointment in the morning 😬 I’ve done a few evening races and so I knew what and when to eat, always a few hours beforehand, as I can’t eat much afterwards. My back/hip niggle from last week had got a lot better although it was still there hovering but I knew I was good to go 🙂
My husband volunteered again to drive me there which is a much valued gift as it takes the stress out of getting there and parking up. This is a new race for me and there was a choice of about five car parks so we left early to make sure we got to the closest one, which was fab as it was just around the corner from the runners’ village.
I picked up my bib and then had a quick loo break (no queues!) and waited for the start. A samba band started playing for us in preparation and took us all to the start line, in the centre of the town centre, about 600 of us 🎶🥁
It was a single lap course which I much prefer and because I’d not run this course before everything was new and interesting which makes the time go faster.
For the first few Ks after the start we were running on footpaths or on roads. I thought this was a closed road event but it wasn’t, although the roads were wide and there was little traffic, and the few cars around were all very patient and obliging as they waited at junctions to let the hordes of runners by.
We hadn’t done 2K when I saw a poor chap returning back to the start and limping badly. I felt for him because we probably all know how he feels ☹️
After the roads we turned off into the countryside and had a good few Ks on a bridle path. Overhanging trees made it quite dark but it was lovely and cool and we didn’t have to worry about any traffic. It was just after the 6K marker when I was feeling strong and in a great rhythm and preparing to overtake the lady in front when I was aware of something happening to my feet and suddenly I was on the ground sprawling in the dirt 🙊 It all happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to prepare and so I fell hard. I think I almost bounced 🤣 at least that’s what I remember. I found myself skidding on my right side with shots of pain in my shoulder, hip, knee and my hands which I’d obviously used instinctively to cushion the fall. Unbelieveably, my first thought was that I hoped this wouldn’t stop me from getting the bling and the second thought was to pause the Garmin 👍 Two runners in front stopped to see if I was OK and I did a quick mental check and said yes I was fine. I thanked them for stopping and got up, pressed resume on the watch and carried on. I looked back and saw it was a big stone that was sticking out of the ground. I was wearing sunglasses and with the darkness from the tree canopy I just didn’t see it.
The worst pain was my left hand and I could see it was covered in dirt but hey ho I was able to run, I felt OK and I didn’t dare look at my knee! I’ll deal with the pain afterwards I thought 🙄
Leaving the bridle path, lovely country roads were next and then for the remaining few Ks, some quiet residential roads where folks were outside clapping and cheering us on. The marshals were, as usual, wonderful and we couldn’t do this without them.
At the final push the church bells started to ring and I took this as a sign. I love the sound of bells, and with the crowd cheering too, I knew I was going to finish strong. When I turned a corner and saw the line I had enough energy to sprint. I even surprised myself with how good I was feeling. I was within touching distance of that bling and nothing was going to hold me back 🤩
At last I crossed the finish line and headed straight to a group of children who were handing out the medals 😍 How lovely is that? A young girl put one around my neck and I felt like an Olympic champion 🏅
The organisers promised a selection of surfaces and they were right. I loved the variety and the evening time and the atmosphere. I’ll definitely do this one again.
Chip time 1:05:56.
Since then I’m bruised, grazed and a bit sore. My knee was swollen the day afterwards but that has gone down now, thank goodness. My shoulder hurts the worst. So probably no running for a few days ☹️ But you know what I’m going to say, it was worth it for you-know-what 🏅 I love it! One of my favourites ❤️
HU 10k Race Report