Totton 10k in glorious sunshine!

[Mudita11]

Totton Running Club has been going for 40 years and wanted to mark this anniversary by holding an inaugural 10k race, open to a max of 300 runners. Totton itself is an unremarkable suburb of Southampton but it is close to lovely countryside and the New Forest. The route chosen for the 10k was gorgeously rural.

I arrived around 8am and the car park (a field next to the Scout hut) was almost full! As the 9am start approached we were led to the start. The list of entrants (279 of us in the end) had been published earlier and I noticed that the majority of runners belonged to running clubs and there were lots of club vests being worn. Help!! So I took my place well at the back 🤣.

The route was twice around beautiful countryside and it was rather hilly. We ran past a couple of pubs, fields full of cows, along some single-track roads. It really was a beautiful route and the sun was shining the whole time. Plenty of lovely encouraging marshals en route and a drink station. I had taken my usual stash of sweets and snacks to keep me going so I was happy.

I was on about 4.5 km when the faster runners started to lap me 🤣. My speed has taken a nose dive since I had Covid in the summer but with this cohort of runners I was just hoping to not be last! And the surroundings were beautiful so I was just glad to be there.

The results showed that my time was 1:07:37 and I was 215 out of 239 finishers. Back at the Scout hut the scouts were doing a roaring trade in bacon rolls and tea/coffee.

The running club announced that they may well hold the race again next year as it went so well and if it does I will definitely enter again.

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

What a lovely day Mudita! Well done. I've been there - a small field of runners and you realise they all have running club affiliations 🙈 You can only marvel at the pace some of these race leaders go at!!!

Wanting to do it again says it all. Maybe they'll be brave enough to open it up to more entries now they've got an inaugural event under their belts.

[Mudita11 Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Thanks Linda. Yes I hope they organise another one 🤞🏼. I’d definitely enter it again x

[Shake-and-run Half Marathon]

Well done Mudita, great time (especially as it was a hilly route ). Sounds lovely. I've been doing some local little events too (so long as there is a medal I'm in!!) and am use to the main pack disappearing up the road with in the first few minutes. I focus on doing my best to not be last, enjoying scenery and the lovely marshals who are always so encouraging. Glad you had fun.

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Shake-and-run]

I was looking at local events yesterday and there was one I quite fancied but then I saw it didn't offer any medal and I was so disappointed 🙁 I mean, what’s the point if there is no medal at the end? 🤣

[Shake-and-run Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

I’m with you on that one. Even if it’s a wooden one (which I try to like because they are better for the planet ). But you can’t beat a nice shiny bit of bling to make it worth the effort!!

Medals don’t seem to be a thing in France. My running club friends get bottles of wine, food items or even a tomato plant !!

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to Shake-and-run]

Now that I do like!

[Mudita11 Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

I’m the same IP where medals are concerned 🤣

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

No medal? No medal? No med …….. 😳😱 Irishprincess , that’s plain ridiculous expecting someone to run a race without that wonderful incentive at the end.

I prefer hefty, but I’ll take anything. Even the tombstone lookalike from Severn Bridge a few years ago. It’s not attractive, but it went around my neck and I’d run 10k. Even the slightly odd jigsaw pieces that Relish - they’re cardboard! 🫨

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Relish are now doing cardboard!!!! I haven’t done a relish race for years so I didn’t know that. They use to have fab medals. I’ve signed up to do one of their Christmas ones and the medal is a snow globe. I can’t imagine that being cardboard…🤔

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Yes! They’re those jigsaw pieces which all fit together if you do all the races in a particular series. I have 3 single ones (2 x Cheddar 10k and 1 x Twp Tunnels). Yes it’s bling …. but ….

[Mudita11 Half Marathon in reply to Shake-and-run]

Thanks Shakes. I’m definitely a medal collector 🤣. I’ve been known to not enter a race where there was no medal at the end 😬😆 x

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Mudita11]

I’m with you there Mudita11 . Absolutely no point whatsoever! 😂

[RunWillie Marathon]

Well done Mudita11 🤩

[Mudita11 Half Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

Thanks RW, it was a lovely event 👌🏻

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

Great sounding run and location there 😍 I know what you mean about so many club runners. My local events are full of them and they are so speedy!

Great looking bling and let’s hope they do it again next year.

[Mudita11 Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

I sometimes think about joining a running club but they seem to mostly run in the evening. I prefer to run first thing, before work. Maybe when I retire! X

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to Mudita11]

I joined a running club several years ago and it was fab, very friendly and lots of groups for various paces. But they ran in the evening and I struggled with the time and then I turned my ankle on a kerb in the dark 🙄 But I realised that I just didn't like running with others and much preferred my own company so I stopped going. One good thing to come out of it though is that I made a new friend there and we now meet up regularly (for lunch, not to run!)

Running clubs aren’t for everyone and it depends on the club too. The first one I joined was so unfriendly and serious that I went once and never returned. If you do decide to join one, then shop around 🙂

[Mudita11 Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Good advice, thank you ☺️ x

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to Mudita11]

Solent Sisters are a nice group Mudita11 ; they asked me to join them at the NFM one year but they are Southampton based.

[Mudita11 Half Marathon in reply to Dexy5]

They are a nice group for sure but only seem to run in the evenings. My sister belonged to Solent Sisters for a while 👍🏻

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Mudita11]

I was a member of our local running club for a few months Mudita11 , and much as it was friendly, I simply didn’t enjoy running in the evening at all. I was also one of the slowest, which didn’t matter at all as everyone was encouraging, but it would have been nice to have a few more mere fellow trotters. I wasn’t interested in trying to better my speed either, so it wasn’t an incentive for me!

I hope you can find one to suit you. 😀

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles]

That sounds a great race, and not a bad time for you at all. Hilly slows you down a bit and COVID left it's mark xx

[Mudita11 Half Marathon in reply to SueAppleRun]

Thanks Sue, it was a lovely event and I really enjoyed it 👍🏻 xx

[misswobble Marathon]

Well done 👏🏃‍♀️🏅

That sounds perfect! A run in the countryside with like-minded people on a sunny day. Not a bad day’s work all in all 😀

Bacon butties too! A definite for next year I’d say 😋

[Mudita11 Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Definitely! Thanks MissW 😀

[aliboo70 Half Marathon]

Very well done Mudita11 sounds like a good one to do xxx

[skysue16 Half Marathon]

Fantastic , well done 👍 👏

[Runnin-g Half Marathon]

Well done 👏🏽

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

They take a while to work their magic, but hills definitely make you much stronger. A valuable contribution to your recovery.

Maybe the small field was a deliberate attempt not to upset the locals (the full “car park” may tell a story). It sounds like a beautiful place to run with a perfect ending; bacon rolls after a tough run 😋.

Lovely surroundings, a good work out and a good time given the terrain and your brush with Covid-19. Sounds like you found exactly what you needed. Perfect day 🙂

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

What a fabulous day you had Mudita11 ! Huge congratulations, and you certainly earned that bacon roll and gorgeous medal. 😍

I’ve never regained my pre covid “speed”. My post viral fatigue did away with that (I had it for weeks and weeks) and I’m a good number of minutes slower over all distances. I’ve embraced it though! 😂

[Dexy5 10 Miles]

Oh I remember that feeling when seeing all the running club shirts at Netley Abbey 10k, but thankfully clubs cover all abilities.

It sounds like you had a great run. I am totally amazed that you are running 10k races every week. You must be amassing a lot of bling.

[Mudita11 Half Marathon in reply to Dexy5]

Can’t have too much bling 😉 x