2013 Challenge Series: Stoke-on-Trent 10k

Zoe, me and Elaine..... before the race....

The last race I ran in this challenge series was back in June, so several months have passed, and a lot has happened. I have reached my time targets for the half marathon and the 5k, so I had just one more target to reach........

Back in June when looking forward to this race, I had hoped that I would beat this last time challenge: to break 50 minutes for a 10k. And this race, the Stoke 10k, was my last opportunity in this series to beat this time. 

However, this was never going to happen: training for New York has become the priority, so in running over the past few weeks, I've not been aiming for speed, but for distance and have therefore been running well within myself. In addition, I could not afford to take it easy this weekend, as I needed to get some more miles in these legs of mine. So Saturday, the day before the race, was a bit of a compromise..... instead of trying to run 20+ miles, which has been my aim over the past month or so, I ran a very slow 14 miles. I hoped that I'd be able to keep up some of the mileage needed to keep me going for New York, whilst still being able to have enough in my legs to run 6 miles on Sunday. Well that was the theory..... 

Pre-race selfie!

Anyway, Sunday came, with an early start to get to Stoke for about 8.30. The race started at 9:00am, which was a little earlier than most of the other races I've been in this year. I was meeting a couple of colleagues before the race who were running with me, Zoe and Elaine, who both work for NYAS. They had taken up the challenge and had agreed to run with me in Stoke: it was great to see some friendly faces before the start of the race, a real encouragement! I'd run with Zoe last year in my very first 10k in London, so it was good to run again with her. Elaine is a far more experienced runner than me, having run several marathons and half marathons over the past few years! It was great to meet up with them before the race started and to discuss tactics................... not!

The day itself was another really good day for running, dry and about 12 degrees, so coolish, but not cold. This was the first Stoke 10k road race, but although it was the first, it was really well organised. Parking was close by, free and plentiful, there were adequate facilities and the route was very well marked and marshaled.  I really liked the course: I never know what constitutes a really hilly course, or what differentiates hilly from "undulating". This one was certainly (at least) "undulating"!! Starting in Hanley Park, the route climbed for the first mile, then dropped gradually for the next two miles, until about half way, when the course then rose again, particularly around 8km, until ending with a fast finish at Hanley Park. 

After... still looking fresh!

I hadn't intended to go flat out, but I did start at a steady pace, which I more or less kept up with and with which I felt happy throughout. The hills, although not especially steep, were pretty long, so I was pleased that I didn't feel like i was struggling much with these (although I wasn't going quickly!), and the downhill parts were fun! I must have placed myself well at the start, as although I was passed by a few people, I found that I also passed others, finishing the race about 240th out of approx 550 runners! My time was 54:07, so my slowest 10k this year, but I was happy that I felt strong at the end!

Zoe and Elaine did brilliantly. I almost missed Zoe finishing, as when I was at the finishing line, she zipped past me at the speed of light! She had not done much training before the race, felt her knees go at about 3km, but still kept going and even really went for it at the end! Elaine took it easy and chatted her way way round the course, having met some people she knew during the race! I really appreciated the fact that they had joined me in this race and they had obviously had fun! 

post race selfie!!

All of us, Zoe, Elaine and myself, were running to support NYAS, a charity which provides advocacy and other services to children in care. We, like the hundreds of staff and volunteers who work for NYAS, are committed to supporting some of the most vulnerable children and young adults in England and Wales. For more about our work, please take a peak at our Annual Review and make a donation at out BT Donate page! 

So now I just have one more race before the New York Marathon. The Birmingham Half Marathon in a few weeks time was the first half marathon I ran in last year, and is still the race I've enjoyed the most, mainly due to the fantastic support and atmosphere created by my fellow Brummies watching. Before then, I reckon I need to look at doing a couple more long (20+ mile) runs and then start to taper them so that I can hopefully arrive in New York fresh and injury free! I am making some progress in raising £2000 for NYAS, so if you would like to support me and NYAS, please visit my fundraising page. Donations, large or small will be fully welcomed!!