Samaritans Run 2018 - What's New

I really enjoy being a part of local races, whether running them, working behind the scenes or supporting on the sidelines. I'm especially fond of The Samaritans Run, which I've run every year for the past 4 years!

The Sam Run, as it's affectionately known, is a 5k and 10k race, usually part of my running club championship, in aid of the Bracknell branch of The Samaritans. It's a vital event in their fundraising calendar and it always has a good turn out. This year it will be held on June 30th and not only am I entered in the 10k event but I'm also an ambassador for it! What does that mean? Well, I'm helping to promote the event, I'll be helping out on race day (when I'm not running), I'll be leading training runs and have provided training plans.

The event used to start at Wellington College, moved to Fujitsu and has now found a new home at Easthampstead Park School. The organisers have been working really hard to take into account the feedback given last year and there have been some changes! I went out to recce the course last weekend (in the snow) which has been simplified and has a new section through the woods. The start and finish point will still be in the school field and 10k-ers will pass through here to start their second lap.

Last year the race village had a lovely community vibe and this year will be no exception. There's stacks of free parking, a new kids fun run and all finishers will receive a nutrition bar, bottle of water, banana and bespoke Samaritans Run medal.

The medals have moved on a bit since this one!

One of the perks of being an ambassador is that I've been given a handful of half price race entries to share. Everyone who comes along to one of my training runs will be entered into a draw to win one of these entries (draw will take place on the afternoon following the training run). I'm planning four training runs, giving you the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the course (although I encourage you to do your speed training/race pace practice in addition to these) and meet smoother participants. You can do either 5k or 10k on the course with pace will take into consideration those taking part.

1. Sunday 22nd April 10am
2. Friday 11th May 6:30pm
3. Sunday 27th May 10am
4. June - TBC

Be sure to follow my Facebook page to join these events! If you don't fancy your chances in the draws, or can't wait that long, you can enter the event here.

Halo Headbands and Dinton Pastures 10k

In case it's escaped you or the weather hasn't been so favourable in your part of the world, it's been hot. Damn hot! Real hot! Hottest things is my shorts. I could cook things in it... to quote Good Morning Vietnam. Even on Thursday evening last week after an overcast day it was in the twenties. I refer to that evening in particular because that was the evening that Anita and I ran Dinton 10k. It's the only one of the series we're doing this year and were hoping to treat it as our PB attempt. In all honesty we hadn't really trained for it. I've been putting together a bigger training plan for events further down the line and just hadn't given this the attention I could have. I think we were just hoping we'd just be fitter than when we ran Yateley last month, which wasn't an unfair assumption to make but it's taught me I need to build more targeted runs into my routine if I'm really going to improve.

Pre race selfies

The organisers moved the registration and start lines this year to give us better facilities and more space to spread out. We could make use of the cafe and use the walk past the enviable children's play area as a warm up. I'm not sure of the reason for the move but it did allow us more room to jostle and broke up what used to be a rather tedious last mile (which the 10k'ers do twice as it's a lapped course). It's a very pretty run with a much smaller entrance pool than Yateley and that's probably why I keep on coming back to it.

We set off fast... too fast really. Anita stuck with me for the first 3km but it was clear she wasn't having a good time of things and after some wandering dogs (LEADS, people, LEADS) and a twisted sign resulted in us taking a wrong turn she dropped back while I tried to push on. My middle two miles were slow but I managed to push in the final half a lap and snuck in under 59 minutes. Not brilliant, not what I'd hoped for and certainly not what I felt I'd earned but it'll do, especially given the wrong turn. If I'd gone out a tad slower I might have been able to maintain a 9:10 average rather than a 9:30. Anita came in about 3 minutes later and I made sure I cheered her over the line as loudly as I could. 

There are masses of events going on at Dinton Pastures. There was a triathlon on Saturday but there are still aquathlon, duathlon and uber swim events coming up. I'm seriously considering both the aquathlon and duathlon!

You'll notice I'm sporting a rather snazzy looking visor in the pictures. Now I sweat easily when exercising at the best of times. Throw some twenty five degree plus heat into the mix and my face is a veritable waterfall. Joy. So I guess I'm a good candidate for putting Halo headwear to the test. At it's most basic, the Halo range are a selection of sweatbands, designed to keep sweat out of your eyes regardless of the activity. They come in the guise of a veritable rainbow of bands, visors, bandanas and so on. I've been trying out the Halo II headband (£12.95) and the visor band (£24.95). The one size fits all bands made from non-elasticated wicking material are meant to stay in place and direct sweat away from the eyes using their "Sweatblock seal" which "sits against the forehead, just above the brow line, and redirects sweat to the sides of the head". Let's see about that...

Post parkrun. I make no apology for the state I'm in.

First up, the Halo II band. I put this to the test on a parkrun and also during some metafit classes and I was reasonably impressed. Despite my having a fairly small head it stayed in place and although I was wiping sweat from the bottom half of my face, I wasn't wiping around my eyes at all. 

I didn't find that the visor band performed quite as well, possibly due to it feeling a little looser than the headband and therefore needing to sit a bit higher on my brow but over a number of  hot, sunny, afternoon runs it did a marvelous job of keeping sun and hair out of my face. Both bands were so comfy that I forgot I was wearing them. If you have short hair like me, you may spend some time adjusting the band purely to get your hair to look slightly less ridiculous but otherwise these look smart and certainly do what they were designed for. I would have happily paid the going rate for the headband, based on it's performance, but probably not the visorband.

Disclaimer: Halo very kindly sent me products for free in return for a review but as ever, all opinions are my own.

Post Holiday Running Surprises

After two weeks of touring the Mississippi Delta, listening to lots of music, eating All The Food In America and not managing quite as much exercise as I'd hoped, I returned to the UK feeling sluggish, doughy and in need of fresh vegetables. Having the majority of meal times and locations dictated to me resulted in vast over eating and I drank more alcohol in those two weeks than probably the previous six months combined. Five days later and I'm already feeling more like myself although a craving for peanut butter ANYTHING lingers on.

What was worrying me most, post-holiday, was that on Wednesday evening I had the first of this year's Yateley 10k series in the calendar. I hadn't planned on doing any of them this year but made a concession as Anita wanted to run a couple of races together (we're doing Dinton Pastures in July). I was worried that I'd not be able to run the distance, certainly not comfortably, and that I'd let Anita down. We'd neither of us run 10k for a while though, and she'd slacked off the running altogether since I was away, citing lack of motivation without me - bless!

We decided that we'd just run for fun, not for time, we'd stick together, and use Dinton as our PB attempt next month. So under prepared, over fed and gadget-less we joined the start line under a sky filled with pitch black clouds. We hadn't been expecting rain so we just crossed our fingers and hoped. While there were reports of hail just a few miles away, and sightings of lightening, we only got showered on for the first 3-4k, which turned out to be mildly refreshing.

Anticipating heavy rains

The course doesn't change from year to year so we knew the bits we liked and the parts that were harder. We quickly settled into our grooves, Anita always slightly in front, me breathing through stitches and catching myself rounding my shoulders as I started to tire in the second half. We even managed some chat and I ran the final hill without stopping for the first time ever. Anita is always so encouraging. She'll tell me I'm doing great when I'm knackered and somehow it never sounds patronising coming from her. We run really well together even though I usually feel I'm holding her back a little.

Mnemonic numbers

Against all the odds we crossed the line in 58:33, a new PB for me and a lot faster than we thought we'd be, given we were running comfortably. It's given me a fresh burst of confidence after my holiday.

Pleased to be finished, and looking forward to a hot shower

Yateley does a number of things very well which is reflected in it's attendance records. Firstly, they have great marshaling and water stops, they will text you your times just minutes after you cross the line, and they always have fantastic medals. For me, it's also a good chance to spot familiar faces. I bumped into Susie Chan of my former running club, a MdS finisher and all round superstar. I saw Donald, an old chap in high waisted shorts who seems to enter every local race going and there was a good smattering of Farnham Runners and parkrunners I recognised.

Yateley comes up trumps with the medal again

I'm starting a new training plan in July when, sadly, I also lose Anita as a housemate. I've no doubt we'll still try to run together but I don't expect it will happen quite so often outside of the races we have planned. Until then though, I'm looking forward to trying out a few new classes such as Metafit and Hot Yoga, and maybe even getting back on the running track or out into the woods for some hill and trail running. I can't wait!

Are there some people you run especially well with? Are there people you can't stand running with?

Event Review : Earley 10k UrbanX

You know me, always keen to try something a bit different. Which is exactly the philosophy behind Incurro, a race organiser who are passionate about encouraging, inspiring, motivating, challenging everyone to “Go on, give it a try” whether they are adults or kids, completing their first 2K or Triathlon. Many events can be quite pricey to enter which and there by exclude a lot of people so Incurro organise reasonably priced, family-friendly, community based events.

I was given one of their leaflets at Woodley parkrun, advertising an event called the Earley 10 UrbanX, a mixed terrain event around Earley, with a difference. This wasn't your usual road race or off-road event but the kind of event where you get to explore the local area, running up/down some of those gaps between streets that you drive past and wonder “where does that go”, along cycle tracks, behind large fences... and find out how un-flat it is!

So at 10am on Sunday 30th March, having managed to deal with the clocks changing, I found myself in Laurel Park in Earley about to experience the very first UrbanX event. In family-friendly style there was an under 16's 2.5k version at 9:30 which I watched with some enthusiasm, cheering on the little ones who looked so tired and generally being very impressed with them all. They all got a well-deserved goody bag complete with creme egg and medal.

Although the event had all the trappings of a well-organised event, chip timing, lots of marshals, bag-drop, changing facilities, refreshments in the form of bacon butties and so on, it was all very friendly and laid back. The route wound its way around the park and then out into Earley, across some roads, round the back of houses, doing exactly what it set out to do; take us on an adventure. The water stop at the halfway point was especially welcome on such a warm day, even more so as it dispensed sports capped bottles, and there were pockets of support all the way round. I completely lost my sense of direction but the route was incredibly well marked with signs, marshals, tape and spray painted footprints on the paths.

I wish I'd taken photos on the way round, or at all, in fact. It really was a great route and challenging; I only just made the hour mark. But once I'd got my breath back I thought what a great event it had been and wished there were more like that in other towns nearby. Every finisher got a medal and a goody bag containing a snickers and some leaflets and coupons for local businesses which I thought was a nice touch. For £15 it was definitely affordable and I will be keeping an eye out for some of their other events including triathlon!

Windsor & Eton Winter Fun Run

Dorney lake is starting to feel like a second home. In the past year I've taken part in three events there and last weekend was my fourth. The site lends itself well to open water swims, duathlon and triathlon but this was the first time I'd taken part in a plain ol' running race; one of the Windsor and Eton Winter Fun Run series organised by F3. I'd chosen the 10k distance. Unusually for a race, the start time was at 12:30 and we were under strict instruction that we would not be allowed on site until 11:30 at the earliest as there was a duathlon taking place in the morning.

Dorney Lake is not a complex site. However it turns out that what a marshal who's been there since some ungodly hour that morning means by the instruction "follow the road" is in fact "bear right where the road splits". This slight misinterpretation meant that I spent the first 10 minutes on site driving up and down the outer road trying to find somewhere to park that wasn't a kilometre from the start. Never mind.

The registration and start area, though tiny compare to all the other events I'd attended here, was perfectly formed. I was in, out, branded (with felt tip), goody bagged up, ankle tag in hand and waving the smell of the catering table out of my hair in around 5 minutes. My warm up took the form of walking backwards and forwards to the car twice to drop of my bag and then retrieve the ankle tag I'd left in my fleece pocket and then doing some stretches in the toilet queue.

The small number of entrants meant that the race briefing cold be given without the need for a megaphone and soon we were all marched across to the start line. No timing mat, no inflatable start, just a virtual line and an air horn. Simple but it seemed to work. It didn't take long for me to realise I was seriously overdressed for the occasion. I'd left home early to volunteer at parkrun and hadn't anticipated how warm it would get later in the day. Thermal leggings and a long sleeved merino top were a bit over the top on what was a sunny and warm, all be it breezy, day although I was glad of the sleeves… if there was no breath of air in the rest of the country I reckon it would still be windy across the lake.

The course was wonderfully flat, with the only inclines being over the bridges on the path that runs down the interior spur of the lake. It's the kind of course you could well expect to run a PB on and that's what I was aiming for. Despite my lack of training I was psyched up to give it a shot. Running the 10k distance involved running 2 laps which meant 5k of sheltered running and 5k of running into a headwind. I paced myself against other people, picked a few people off, thought it wise to take a short walk break to drink at the halfway mark and was focusing and so hard on the finish line in the last 2k, pushing my legs to keep on going, that my vision went a bit funny. A recovery shake never disappeared so fast nor tasted so good as after that.

Toffee Fudge… my new favourite flavour. I'd keep racing just to have these.

It was all worth it though. I knew I couldn't have run much harder without doing myself a damage and I am in love with my wonderful chunky medal. It wasn't until two days later that I realised I'd exactly equalled my PB, something I'm incredibly happy about, all things considered, and I'm not disappointed to have come 48th out of 77 ladies running the 10k.

Bling bling!

A phenomenal number of events are held at Dorney Lake every year there on top of providing a training ground. Human Race organise a lot as do F3 so if you're keen to try something new or aim for a PB any event here would be ideal. Check out the organiser sites for upcoming races. My event was the second of a series of four, the next ones being on Sunday 23rd March and Saturday 19th April with the choice of running 5, 10, 15 or even 20km so you still have a chance to enter one if it takes your fancy.

I got my race place thanks to the wonderful Write This Run team. My result here gave me so much reassurance and confidence. Thank you.

Wow what a year!

This really has been the most amazing year. It’s not been a straightforward one. There have been sad, difficult and painful times but a lot of joy, fun, surprises and flat out incredible moments. I’m not exactly where I thought I’d be, I reckon I overshot the mark there and I certainly achieved more than I thought possible, in so many ways.

I find it useful to take stock at the end of each year, to think about the events, what I’m thankful for and to get a feel for the coming 12 months and this year I’d like to say a few things publicly.

Thanks

Firstly, a few thank you's. Thank you to all of you for reading my blog, for interacting here, on facebook or twitter and stopping me from just typing into the void. You guys make this a whole lot more fun.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me early in the year and helped me to support the Scleroderma Society. Together we made a huge difference to a small charity.

Me and my Aunt, who inspired my charity choice

Thank you to all of my friends who have stuck by me. You’ve helped me through house moves, crazy training and race schedules, put up with me talking incessantly about said crazy training and race schedules and even encouraged me and pushed me to achieve some of the amazing things I’ve done this year. Without Anita-the-Crazy I certainly wouldn’t have done Tough Mudder, for instance.

Most of all thank you to my family, in particular my mum, dad, aunt and godparents. You mean the world to me and have done SO much for me this year.

Dad-hug post-marathon

Gratitude

I’m grateful for the opportunities this blog and the health and fitness community have afforded me. I wouldn’t have met @amerbob for some of the most fun runs I’ve done this year, I wouldn’t have gone to the Run MummyRun social and made new friends there, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to write for The Protein Works or go to the Write This Run conference and I wouldn’t have been able to write blogs or articles for other sites either.

@amerbob, Anna and me - who knew marathon running could be so fun

I’m grateful for the life change in February that meant I threw myself into my training as a coping mechanism. Silver linings…

I’m grateful for my health, especially now I’m not 100%, and for the fact I managed to get through the year injury-free.

Achievements

This year I’ve taken part in 21 races: 2 marathons, 3 half marathons, 7 x 10k’s, 2 x 5ks, 3 triathlons, an open water swim and 5 others that don’t fall into a category. I’ve gotten through 2 pairs of trainers, logged 634 running miles on the Garmin, swum 10,200 meters and cycled around 143 miles. I’ve set 8 new PBs in the process. I also had my first microadventure, started my Advanced Diploma in Personal Training and became a qualified Gym Instructor.

Plans

I have lots of exciting plans for next year. I aim to be a qualified Personal Trainer by the end of June and will hopefully finish the entire qualification by the end of the year. I would love to start working as a PT and to continue writing for and working with the brands I’ve connected with this year. My studies are going to take quite a bit of time so I won’t be racing as much but I do want to work on my speed and hope to set new PBs of sub-25 for 5k, sub 55 for 10k and sub 2 hour half marathon. I am registered for the following races already:

10 miles Carnival Du Nice

Dorney Lake 10k

Surrey Half Marathon

Electric Run

Bacchus Half Marathon

And I intend to do my first ultra and/or 24 hour event (as part of a team). I’m considering these other events:

Glow in the Park

Royal Berkshire 10k

Samaritans 10k

Equinox24

Gatliff 50k

It would be great to know if you’re taking part in any of them too. Perhaps we can say hi to each other. I’d love to hear about your plans for next year and how you feel about 2013. Did you have goals? Did you meet them? Did you surprise yourself? Feel free to write a few words or pop a link to your blog post in the comments below.

In any case, I hope this point in the year finds you happy and healthy and that 2014 is full of adventures for you.

Race Review: Running Show 10k

I keep glancing over to the clock on the sideboard. I'd have liked to have left the house half an hour ago but my house guest is still eating breakfast and I promised to drop them at the station before going to Sandown Park. I have rarely felt less prepared for a race. I've not run for weeks, with the exception of treadmill work, and no further than about 3 miles even then. It's cold and I'm tired from a full day of conference and a gig the night before. I've only the vaguest of ideas about the course layout and all I know is I need to register by 10am. It's 9:15 and the journey takes 40 minutes.

A rather aggressive car journey later and I get to the registration desk at 10am precisely. The people behind the desk don't show any signs of turning people away in the near future so I start to relax. Grasping my race number I wander around the Running Show for a bit to try and calm down. I snaffle some samples of Clif bar and enjoy a soothing and warming hot chocmalt drink from the chaps at Après. Breathe. It's fine. Just get round. 

By the time I get myself to the start area and meet up with the Write This Run girls I'm feeling a bit better and have amended my goal from "just get round" to "run a sub hour". The starting group is much smaller than I expected but the atmosphere is lively. I got race envy last year when I saw people wandering around the show with their medals so I was thrilled to discover that my conference ticket included entry to the race this year. No brainer, as Kevin Bacon would say.

The Write This Run girls. Photo from Write This Run

The course is two laps around the exhibition centre and part way round the race course. There are some long inclines that I hadn't been expecting but I hack away at them, picking off a couple of people. Afterwards I can see from the split data on my Garmin, which miles were uphill. I'm buoyed by James from 4Distance giving me a shout out as we pass each other going in opposite directions on the first lap and by seeing Debbie, who ran my pub quiz for me earlier in the year, marshalling at the top of quite a steep incline outside the exhibition centre.

We're off! Photo from Write This Run

I talk myself into walking the final incline, once I've passed the enthusiastic marshalls, and am passed by a lady in purple, who I'd overtaken moments earlier. "Come on, we've got this" she puffs, so I pick up the pace and run hard to the finish line. I break my PB by 20 seconds, completely unexpectedly, amazing! Lady-in-purple and I thank each other, we both did better than expected and I head back into the show, beaming, to freshen up a bit and guilty try on kit that I won't buy and will leave smelling slightly less fresh.

The Running Show 10k is well worth taking part in if you go to the show next year. There's a fun run for the kids and a 5k option too. Just don't expect it to be flat!

Bling and PB

Women’s Running 10k - London

This weekend I ran two races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The first was a 10k in Finsbury Park organised by Women's Running magazine. This was the last in a series of three that had taken place across the country in Bristol, Nottingham and London. It cost £25 to enter, which could be considered a little pricey for a 10k, but as it included a goody bag, medal, technical t-shirt and tea and cake for all runners after the event I think it was worth it. If three of you entered together you got your entry fee discounted to about £20.80

The weather was nigh on perfect for the event, alternately sunny and overcast but with the rain holding off for the run itself. The event was easy to get to on public transport although the lack of signs to the park from the tube station saw many runners wandering the streets with smart phones in hand. The race village was quite small with just a baggage tent, tea/coffee van, loos and a couple of stalls but there wasn't a long queue to use the toilets and there was a nice big area for the warm up. I think a stall selling food would have been nice, my dad missed his usual bacon butty. There were a few interviews with members of the Women's Running magazine including Nell McAndrew, and with two ladies from 9bar before a warm up and an introduction to the pacers.

The race started pretty much on time and I didn't experience any over crowding at the start. The course was well marked and marshalled with plenty of points for spectators to cheer the runners on and official photographers at several points. It was a two lap, lightly undulating course which lent itself to possible PBs. I didn't manage one myself but was really pleased to come 178 out of 621 with a time of 58:14.

A nice touch was having our names called out as we came into the finish, that made me smile :) As well as the medal we were handed a bottle of water and a goody bag in a Women's Running branded drawstring bag. All runners could claim a tea or coffee and a delicious banana cake - a lovely touch which made for excellent post-race fuel. The medal was lovely, with the location and date on the ribbon, t-shirts were sized (although I think they come up a little small around the neck) and the goody bag was particularly good containing:

• Copy of the latest Women's Running magazine
• 9bar
• EQ8 drink
• Halo deoderising wipes
• Shampoo and conditioner samples from the Body Shop
• Facial moisturiser
• Feroglobin iron supplement
• Pocket pack of tissues

As a first 10k, one for fun, or one to try and get a PB on, I'd recommend looking out for this next year. It's friendly, fun and well organised.

Yateley 10k : August 2013 Edition

The Yateley 10k is a race I've run and written about repeatedly (August 2010, June 2012, July 2012 and Aug 2012). It's one of the few races I will consider doing every year. It's another of the local mid-week race series we're blessed with in this neck of the woods, organised by Sandhurst Joggers for the first Wednesday of June, July and August. It's pretty inexpensive, especially considering it's a chip-timed, semi-closed road event (cars are on the roads but there's plenty of signs warning that runners have priority the marshalls do a superb job of managing the traffic) and you get a brilliant medal at the end. You can choose to order a race series t-shirt which I did one year but it was cotton so I haven't got one since. There's loads of parking, mostly on site or a short walk away, prizes for the top 3 male and female runners in each age category and a 1.5k fun run for the kids, making this a real family event.

Affiliated			Non-Affiliated
1 Race	£12:00		1 Race	£14:00
2 Races	£22:00		2 Races	£24:00
Race Series	£30:00		Race Series	£36:00

You pick up your race pack on the evening from the sports hall of the school that lends it's grounds to this event and head out onto the playing field where the race village is set up. There are ample porta-loos, a huge inflatable slide for the kids, a couple of food stalls and music courtesy of Frimley Park Radio. I love milling around in the field before the race, checking out which clubs are represented and spotting familiar faces. It was a joy to see some of my old club, Farnham Runners, as well as some of the regulars at Frimley parkrun and two gentlemen I saw at Woodland 5 last week, including the chap who encouraged me after the final hill and Dennis, the oldest runner I know who seems to be at every race in the area. Before the start there was a good group warm up and the starting funnel was sectioned according to predicted finishing time which meant there wasn't too much congestion at the start.

Copyright Denis Chapman Photography

The course is the same every year, a 10k circular route around Yateley. I used to think it was a little hilly but aside from the incline at 9k which seems to go on forever, I've realised it's relatively flat with some lovely down hill sections.Water stations are at 5k and 8.5k with a sponge station at about 7k. The atmosphere is friendly and fun and plenty of locals, friends and family turn out on the course to cheer us on; it's a bit of an event. I ended up running the whole course with a chap I didn't know who picked me to pace him round in under the hour due to my "runners physique". Shame I don't have the speed to match! We chatted a bit and encouraged each other making this perhaps the most social race I've run. And yes we achieved his sub hour but I do wonder if we'd have managed a bit more without the conversation :)

The finish is really well organised. You don't get a goody bag as such but after you're funneled through to get your chip cut off,  you are handed a superb medal (which this year doubled as a bottle opener and is probably the best medal I've ever had), a bottle of water and a fun size chocolate (I chose a Dairy Milk). On arriving back at your car you will also find half a dozen leaflets under your windscreen wipers. On some occasions there have been spot prizes given out or £5 Sweatshop vouchers in the race pack but not this year. I recommend milling around at the end to socialise a bit, maybe grab a burger or a drink and take in the prize giving. If you can get to any of these next year I would urge you to do so.

I was only able to run the August event this year but have previous years times to compare with. My PB was actually set at my first one in August 2010 at 59:03 and although I was hoping to set a sub 58 this time around, it was not to be. Mildly disappointed given the amount of training I've been doing and how fit I feel these days but of course I've not been training for speed and there's always next year...

Dinton Pastures 10k – July

Last week I took part in the last of the Dinton Pastures 10k series of runs organised by Barnes Fitness. I've been seriously impressed by the whole series, the organisation has been really good with a pretty, fast route, a good atmosphere and some nice touches like results available to print right after the finish.

Source

This month I ran with a friend... At least we turned up and started together. She's always been a bit faster than me but is better on hills so this being a flat course meant I was only 2 minutes behind her. It was a scorcher of an evening but thankfully much of the course, by nature of being in a park, was shaded by trees so I was able to give it a good try and only came in 30 seconds over my previous PB.

One of the better race photos of me...

As this was the last in the series the organisers had put on something a bit special post-race. Not only did we get a chance to try a little open water swimming in the lake but there was also a BBQ! Choices of burgers, sausages and salads (including a vegetarian burger and lashings of fried onions, ketchup and mustard). We spent a very happy half hour devouring our burgers, making friends with the canine companions and soaking up the atmosphere, not to mention enjoying the start of the sunset over the park.

Keep it going lads, runners get hungry!

I do have a soft spot for local, mid-week races and this series has become one of my favourites. I urge you to check out your local race listings (try looking at the running club websites) to see if there are any mid-week races near you. They tend to be cheap, intimate and a great way to break up the week. I'll be dipping my toes into the Yateley 10k series next month for their last race of the season, partly because I felt a bit sad I wasn't doing the whole thing this year and partly because I've been told they have very cool medals this year...

If you've missed my previous posts on the series you can find them here for May and June.

Have you run mid-week races before? If so which one, did you enjoy it and how did it compare to weekend racing?

Dinton Pastures 10k - June

Just a short post... On Thursday I ran the second of the Dinton Pastures 10k series. It was another great evening for running; a little windy but bright and sunny, pretty much perfect conditions. If you read my review of the first event, then there's really very little to add about the race in general. However despite being absolutely beasted at my PT session on Wednesday (one on one circuits class) I managed a new PB!

And that, my friends, is worth a post. Happy running!