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The Big Pilgrimage Marathon 2023

I haven’t been blogging for a while now. I feel sad as it’s been such a presence in my life since… 2012? Wow. Clearly though I don’t feel as compelled to document aspects of my life in this format as frequently. I tend to use Instagram more, I guess (@AnnaTheAppleBlog).

However I enjoy writing my race recaps. If only for myself really so I have something to look back at and remember. And potentially it could be helpful for others if they’re looking for more of a colloquial account of what a race is like.

So anyway, I ran a race! A marathon… shocking I know. I ran the Big Pilgrimage Marathon in August.

Originally when I signed up I toyed with the idea of the ultra distance (8 more miles on top of the marathon). But sensibly, I went with the marathon. It’s not necessarily the distance on the day that I found a bit daunting, but the training itself.

I can comfortably squeeze in the training for a marathon these days without it impacting too much on the weekend time with Isaac and Kyle. That time is so precious.

To get my long runs in I’ve been getting up at 5am to get out of the house by 5.15am. So even if I run 18 miles (the furthest I tend to go) I’m back home by 7.30ish. This means I don’t miss too much of the morning with Isaac (which usually begins at 6.30am). To train for an ultra would mean a lot more 18+ milers. Not something I’m keen to fit in right now.

This race was very handy. It started at Mayflower Park in Southampton and I was able to pay £10 and get transport from Fort Nelson, just a mile from our (new) house. That way Kyle and Isaac didn’t need to get up with me and I could sneak out. The race started at 7.30am so it was quite the early start.

The race was to finish in Fort Nelson (so basically running from Southampton all the way home!) so it was weird being at the finish already. But the transport was super smooth and everyone was friendly and we arrived at Mayflower Park with about 40 minutes to go. So I could comfortably pick up my bib and have a last wee.

The Big Pilgrimage is a very chilled and relaxed event. It’s quite a small event – I think just over 100 people for the marathon distance – which helper it feel very friendly and local. I saw lots of familiar faces which was nice.

As we lined up for the start, I got that nervous feeling I always get before a marathon. Nothing is ever guaranteed or easy, no matter how many times you’ve done the distance before. So off we went. 

Because the field was quite small, I found myself amongst the lead pack. This concerned me a little because my immediate thought was that I was going too fast and also that I wasn’t able to put the route on my watch so if I lost them and was on my own I could be a bit stuck. On that note, the route was so well marked and the marshals great, that there was only one point that I almost missed an arrow (luckily, I was running with someone at the time).

The first section of the run is through Southampton, and you head over Itchen Bridge. I was prepared for this run to be quite undulating and having done this bridge a fair few times in the Southampton Marathon, it was fine. My pace remained around 8-8.30min/miles so I wasn’t beasting myself silly.

Then we headed over towards Netley. We ran alongside the coast and the terrain became off-road (though more compacted trails then anything too gnarly). Kyle, Isaac, my parents and Kyle’s mum would be waiting in Royal Victoria Country Park for me to run through, so that was a nice little motivator. It’s a familiar area to me as well so it felt really comforting, if that makes sense?

At mile five, I got to RVCP and saw my family. Isaac shouted “mummy!” which was lovely and tried to run after me. Very sweet. 

Something that was quite disconcerting about the race was that 99% of people were wearing hydration packs. I had intended on wearing one but I worried it was going to rub me raw (like it has done previously). The only issue was that the race was very eco friendly (lovely) and so at the water stations you needed to provide your own cup or have you pack filled up. So there would be no way for me to get water without carrying something. I decided, probably quite riskily, that because Kyle and my dad were planning on getting to different areas on the course that I could just get water from them.

Of course this is a huge risk – what if I missed them? What if I couldn’t find them? But I decided to wing it. However I did feel quite naked compared to literally everyone else who were all prepared for “self-hydration”. It was going to be quite a warm day and I realised I probably looked either very stupid or a bit cocky.

Oh I should also mention that during the race there are different points where you have to grab a sticker from a marshal and then, like a bingo card, stick it to your bib. This way you know you’ve gone the right way. The stickers were all unique to the different areas.

Anyway, I got my RCVP sticker, drank some water, waved goodbye to my family and off I went.

The unique part about this race is that you have to catch a little ferryboat from Hamble to get to the other side of the river. So that’s where I was now heading. I was still in the lead pack, which was now spreading out a bit more. There were ultra runners already on the course as they’d started earlier so that was nice.

As I got to Hamble (mile 7 or 8 I think) I decided not to stop at the aid station for any snacks (or stare at water I couldn’t have) so ran straight to the boat. I think there were a few boats that would be going back and forwards but there was one literally about to leave and I hopped onto it. It seemed I was the last person and it left straight away! Fantastic timing.

It was very odd immediately stopping (I didn’t stop my watch of course). Everyone was taking photos and talking good naturedly which was nice. I chatted to an older woman who had been running ultras for many years. So interesting. The ferry ride was about 8 minutes long I think and as we came to stop we all hopped off and off we went again.

Now it became clear that there really weren’t many other marathoners, just ultra runners.

We ran to another coastal path and ran alongside the sea, which was lovely. And then we ran across a shingle beach which seemed to go on forever and that was a grind. Though the views were gorgeous. It was a little up and down but nothing crazy. You just had to be careful of your footing. 

I caught up to a man and we started chatting. He was another marathoner. We soon realised that we were actually the two lead runners! Mental. I think because it was such a small race and because we’d both been so lucky with catching the first boat, we’d managed to get ahead.

The coastal path went all the way down to Hill Head, which is very close to where my parents live and again the area became super familiar. At this point the other marathoner, Phil, and I had were having a lovely chat. We were chatting about training, races and all things in between. It was great. We were similar paced and the miles just ticked on by.

I was going to see Kyle and my dad again soon, at mile 10, and I explained my water situation to him (so he didn’t think I was mental not having water on me). I saw them and grabbed some water – which at this point was now an essential. It was becoming very warm. The sun was beaming down and there wasn’t much shade. But the water helped and off we went. It was unspoken that we didn’t wait for each other but just slowed down for the other and let them catch up again (when he stopped for a wee, or I stopped and grabbed water for example). It was nice to be running with someone, but no pressures. 

We ran down the Titchfield Canal path which I know very well. A path that seems to go on forever (about 2 miles). But it’s beautiful. I saw Kyle and my dad again, water was drunk again, and off we went through Titchfield. Past Titchfield Abbey, where the 15 miler racers were to stop, and then headed towards Wickham.

Now the route became less familiar to me. And from what I’d read about the course, I knew it was going to get a lot more hilly. Phil had run the race before so he gave me a good idea of what was to come.

Eventually we got to Wickham, where we ran along the old railway line. This was around 20 miles. As I reached Kyle I grabbed the water and realised it was almost empty and he’d forgotten to grab the other one. The water bottle isn’t a clear bottle and is quite heavy (one of those thermos style ones) so it isn’t very obvious when there’s not much in them. This panicked me a bit as I was so thirsty. Of course this is my own fault for not carrying my own water but Kyle was really worried and felt terrible for not bringing the spare, bless him. Not his fault at all!

I tried a bit of Diet Coke from my dad but ooof that didn’t go down well. I ran off burping away! But anyway, it is what it is. That was the risk I took after all.

I caught back up with Phil and we headed for a big climb. Because I’d built it up in my head it actually wasn’t that bad thankfully. But I knew it was only going to get harder. We had a long downhill stretch on a road and this actually felt so much worse. My legs were not happy at all. My pace had remained fairly consistent through the whole race – probably a bit faster than I thought I was going to go for an off-road more hilly event but I generally felt comfortable the entire race.

At mile 24 I suddenly saw Kyle pop out of the bushes. He’d wanted to find me again before the end to give me more water. I was so pleased to see him because I was really quite thirsty and the thought of more miles in the heat was going to be a struggle. Phil had offered me his water but I had declined because I knew he didn’t have much and would probably need it. Very nice of him though.

I had a big glug from Kyle’s water, thanked him profusely and off we went. Not far now!

The last few miles the conversation grew less and less and I felt the hills getting harder. We’d both agreed that if one of us felt good they should go and it didn’t surprise me when Phil slowly peeled away from me. 

We had two miles left, full uphill climb to the finish and I had nothing left in the tank to keep up. I watched him go and then slowly sunk into my pain cave. It was a tough old slog but I still felt pretty good considering the miles we’d run and the terrain. I was comfortable knowing that I’d be first female and second overall (wowee!) as no one was behind. I wanted to finish as strong as I could though. But it did feel like a crawl and the final stretch across the field towards Fort Nelson was brutal. No shade and a long stretch ahead.

I finished with a smile though as I saw my family, Isaac running alongside me yelling “mama!”.

So in the end, a happy second place, a first place female and 3:50:08, Not too shabby at all!

So all in all, a really great event. Well organised by the Big Feat Events, felt very local and friendly, and a fantastic course. It was beautiful. Varied, interesting, tough but enjoyable. I fully recommend. I hope to do it again!

My legs the next day definitely felt the trails… I’m definitely not used to this trail running business!

Do you like running with strangers in a race?

Do you prefer trails or road races? I’m a road girl but like the trails from time to time.

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New Forest Marathon recap – 2022

The New Forest Marathon was my 26th marathon (though I have actually run the marathon distance 28 times but they’re unofficial).

I did this race a few years ago and was looking forward to it. I normally predominately do road marathons, so it was nice to a “semi-trail” one. I say semi-trail because a lot of it is still on road and the non-road bits are on compacted trail so realistically it’s not that off-roady. You wouldn’t need trail shoes for this race.

Sarah, Kyle’s mum, looked after Isaac the night before and came to ours for 7.30am to drop him off and join us. This was really handy because it meant I got a decent night’s sleep the night before. I do have to wake up in the middle of the night though to pump as I’m still breastfeeding Isaac so it’s not perfect but definitely easier.

I fed Isaac and got my porridge together and then we were off. It was about 40ish minutes away and the race started at 9.30am. The traffic to get into the race village is a little heavy but we got there with enough time for me to go for a quick wee and do the warmup.

Then we were off! Sarah and Kyle were going to try and see me during the race but I wasn’t banking on it. It’s a tricky course to spectate unless you drive or cycle around. Spoiler alert: they couldn’t find a way to see me. It was just impossible. But it didn’t stop me thinking “I might see them soon” as I was running which, while ultimately disappointing as I never saw them, was a nice motivator.

I felt very swept away with the first mile, looking at my watch and seeing 7:20s and thinking wooah there this is not sustainable. I’m not in the mindset to GO GO GO. This race was more just about enjoying it and seeing what I could do with the level of effort I want to put in. I pretty much say this about every race so I know I’m a bit of broken record by now! But that’s just how I like to run and do marathons. And I do wonder because I don’t go for a time every time I enjoy them more and can do more of them as I’m not rinsed at the end every time.

Anyway I pulled back the pace a bit and let people fly past me. Marathons are a long way and I wanted to relax a bit more early on. The first 10 miles went by without much to report. The scenery was beautiful. Gigantic trees (apparently weighing around 104 tonnes!) and gorgeous views. It was very peaceful. The marshals were really supportive and happy, so that was great.

Mid-race selfie

The race organisers had said the change of course meant it was now “fast and flat”. Well between 8-9 miles it was certainly not flat! There was a slow incline up to Rhinestone House (which was beautiful) that seemed to suck the life from me. And at different points during the race I would be really questioning their “fast and flat” description. Maybe compared to last year! It certainly isn’t hilly but I wouldn’t describe it as flat. Occasionally bumpy.

I got to mile 10 and decided to put a podcast on. Recently I haven’t felt the need to listen to anything during marathons. I quite like the freedom of just running with the surrounding sounds. Sometimes listening to things during the race can put you in a little bubble away from the race atmosphere. However I was starting to feel a bit bored and the idea of 16 more miles was weighing heavily on my brain.

Don’t get me wrong, the views are beautiful and the marshals lovely, but I needed something to take my mind off the task at hand. So I popped one on and just zoned out.

It was getting really warm now, and humid. I hadn’t got anything with me because I knew there were enough water stations and from about halfway I started stopping at the water stations. Like literally stopping and getting a cup or two of water to drink. They were using paper cups (yay for sustainability!) and I didn’t’ want to try and run and drink because I was getting very thirsty and I knew I wouldn’t take in enough otherwise.

After halfway my mood started to sink. I was mentally struggling. Maybe it was the humidity or maybe it was just one of those days, but I found my pace dropping a bit. It just felt really hard, and finding it hard made me feel demotivated. I’ve run marathons before! I’ve done solid training! What’s going on! But this is why the marathon is so challenging, anything can happen and it doesn’t matter how many you’ve done. It’s still a long way and you’re only human.

I needed a wee as well and I couldn’t see any toilets on the course so I decided to duck into a bush. In doing that I put my foot straight into a soggy bog… ah wonderful. I had my wee and then got back mile 19. This was amazing! I’d somehow glazed over a mile. I can’t tell you what this did to my mood.

Now I was in a whole different head space. Suddenly the end was in sight – I could absolutely do this. I switched the podcast to music and BOOM I was good to go. It was like someone had injected lightening up my bum.

It’s crazy how suddenly my body didn’t feel so tired and demotivated as before. When I got to 20 miles I was feeling in a great place. Knowing I had only 10k to go – I could definitely do this. It helped that there was a great downhill at mile 21. My legs ached and were tired, of course, but I knew I could push through to the end.

I definitely could have had an easier time at the end had I just kept the pace nice and chilled but after I had started getting faster I was like “well I can’t slow down now!”. So I had to ride that pain train. I passed a few people who cheered me on which was nice and the supporters on the route were lovely. I tried to keep a smile on my face as much as I could because, ages ago, I remember reading about fooling your body into thinking everything was OK if you smiled (don’t quote me on that research, ha!). But also it encourages supporters to give you a big cheer so that was nice.

We had now joined the half marathoners which meant a bit of weaving in and out of runners. This involved more concentration that just head down pushing forward. Finally we got to the race village and I could see the finish line. I put some more welly into it and got going. My legs were BURNING. The finish line had a good crowd of supporters lined up along it so that was amazing. They were all cheering and that hugely helped. I saw Kyle and he shouted me on too.

As I almost got to the end I started to feel a little sick, probably due to the effort I was exerting, and I suddenly got a big whiff of a burger van nearby and I honestly thought I was going to throw up! Luckily, thank god, I didn’t. Whew!

My time was 3:24:37. I am SO over the moon as I really thought my race was nosediving in the middle. I actually thought I’d be closer to 3:30+ than a sub 3:30. I’m really really pleased. Especially for a race that I had zero expectations for. It’s one of my faster times (6th fastest in actual fact).

It’s a little annoying that it isn’t a full 26.2 miles on my watch but I’m assuming that’s because of the trees and satellites. I had the same issue last time, and that was a different course. Hey ho!

I met someone I knew from Instagram and we had a nice chat, so that was cool, and then I found Kyle, Isaac and Sarah. Ahh it was so lovely to be reunited and have a cuddle with my little man!

Apparently he’d had a great time enjoying crawling about the place, eating ice cream and spending time with his Nana (and dad of course!). A big thank you to them 🙂 I’m very lucky to have such patient and supportive family who are happy to come and join me when I do my races.

So all in all, a tough but enjoyable day. I’m glad I got myself out of my funny headspace mid-way through the race and finished with a smile on my face. Though my legs were certainly feeling more achy than I’d anticipated!

Do you prefer trail or road races?

Have you had a race where you’ve dipped but then brought it back later?

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A year of Isaac

I cannot believe that over a year ago I gave birth to Isaac.

It has been the fastest but longest year of my life. Nothing has remained the same. Every month is different. Every day we’re learning something new, or Isaac is showing us something new that he can do or understand. It’s such a steep learning curve for us all!

I won’t lie, it has been a hard year. Though I will stress we’ve definitely had it easier than a lot of people because we have such a solid support network around us. Both our parents are so willing and eager to look after Isaac for us and give us a break or just come round and give advice.

We’re very lucky that Kyle’s mum and my mum can look after Isaac one day a week so that he only goes to nursery twice a week as I only work four days. The cost savings alone are so helpful to us, obviously. And as we’re working from home still, it means things are a lot less stressful.

Anyway, a whole year has gone by and Isaac is no longer a baby but almost a toddler now! He’s crawling, he’s pulling himself to standing and managing to hold himself independently for about 15-20 seconds. So we assume it won’t be long before he’s walking.

He’s eating so much food as well. Using his hands to feed himself and generally eating everything we give him. Though he wasn’t fussed when we tried him on a Mr Whippy ice cream! We haven’t given him lots of sweet or processed things to be honest. We’ve kept to plain yogurt, no chocolate and trying to make most of his meals rather than buy baby food. Not that I judge anyone who does, but for now while he’s so young I just want him to get to grips with more nutritious and “real” food before he fully understands the wonder of cake and chocolate 😉

In terms of breastfeeding, I’m still going. When he’s at nursery or with the Nanas he doesn’t really have any milk unless he’s upset or struggling to nap. But when he’s with me we tend to feed throughout the day. He will always feed before bed and in the morning though. I’m still enjoying it and will be led by him for when to stop. Though I imagine at two years that’ll probably be my max if he hasn’t stopped before.

I have to say, I am loving this stage in general. Obviously I’ve loved Isaac his entire life but I’m much more enjoying this period of time compared to when he was a helpless baby. Of course he was adorable as a baby and so squishy but I love that I can fully interact with him and play with him. Watching how his mind works and his personality so strong coming through.

I definitely find playing with him easier now that he can move himself about. Hanging things above his head while he was immobile on the floor wasn’t the most exciting time I must say. But now passing him toys or showing him different things and watching him try to replicate is just lovely.

Sleep is still tough though. We had one week where he was sleeping through until 4am, I would then feed him and he’d fall back asleep to 6-7am. It was glorious. I felt like a new woman. But now he’s waking at 5am and not going back to sleep. It could well be that we’ve been going through a heatwave and the brighter mornings (though we do use blackout blinds). It’s tough and I desperately want more sleep but I go to bed early enough to not be too much of a zombie.

Sleep aside, it’s such a lovely period for us and Kyle and I are so in love with this little whirlwind of a boy. He’s full of beans and makes us laugh so much. I can’t wait for the coming months as he starts to speak (he’s not quite there yet). So much to look forward to!

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parkrun Smackdown – Kyle vs. Anna

Bit late on the recap, but the weekend before last Kyle and I decided to have a ‘parkrun smackdown’. (I will quickly preface this by saying I know parkrun is not actually a race, this is just a bit of fun between Kyle and me).

This basically meant we were going to race each other at Southsea parkrun. We had often wondered who would win over a 5k between us. I train a bit more in general than Kyle and have been running longer, but Kyle is far better at sprinting and running shorter distances than me. So it would be interesting.

I ran down to Southsea parkrun (almost 3 miles) as I knew I’d need a bit of a warmup beforehand, especially for a 5k. I struggle to go from 0 to 100 that quickly. Kyle drove down with Isaac and I met him, his mum, sister and my dad there. We were all going to go for breakfast afterwards. Something to look forward to after all that pain!

It was fairly windy, annoyingly, and very warm. Southsea parkrun is an out and back and so you run 1.5ish miles out along the prom and then back again. The wind was coming from the West so the first half of the run would be lovely with a tail wind, but then heading back would be dreadful.

There had been some fun banter all week between Kyle and me. Some good old fashioned trash talk. But in reality I had a sneaky suspicion that Kyle would beat me. He would straight away run ahead and I didn’t think I had enough mileage to catch him up. We would see…

As parkrun begun I was ahead for, oh, all of 5 seconds before Kyle zoomed past me. Then it was basically me desperately trying to keep him in my sights. I looked at my watch and saw low 6 minute miles and thought “oh wow this isn’t going to stay like this!”. But I knew I needed to make as much gains as I could while the wind was in a favourable direction. It would all change when we get to the turn around point.

I managed to keep Kyle in my line of vision but I wasn’t gaining on him. I hoped that maybe after the turnaround he would start to lose his energy but it was a longshot. We got to the turnaround and straight away the wind hit us in the face. Now it was going to get tough!

I never did manage to gain any closer to Kyle but I didn’t manage to lose too much distance either. As I hit 2 miles I started to do the maths in my head… with the pace I’d been running so far could I be in chance of a sub-20?

Ooof it would be a hard ask. I was putting everything into it and my legs and lungs were burning. Sadly, as I hit 3 miles I realised this would be impossible. I wasn’t running fast enough. I crossed the line (behind Kyle) at 20:23. Kyle finished in a fantastic 20:11.

The winner!

We were both really pleased with our times. I mean, this is the fastest I’ve run in MONTHS for a 5k.

However there was a little bit of a disappointment lingering for both Kyle and I that we hadn’t managed to get a sub-20. More so for Kyle as he was so close, whereas I guess for me I’d really need to get my skates on! I reckon though Kyle would have smashed the 20 minute mark had the wind not been so strong.

The disappointment didn’t last long tho as we were then off to the Parade Tearooms for some breakfast. I say breakfast but my meal of choice from there will always be their gigantic Jayne Salad. It’s epic and I always order it, regardless of the time.

Calling it a salad is somewhat of a push considering it doesn’t contain that much salad compared to the piles of bacon, potato, chicken and cheese (which is why it’s so divine).

Anyway, a lovely morning! Family, parkrunning and breakfast 🙂

Have you ever raced someone at parkrun?

Would you eat a salad for breakfast?

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Romsey Beer Race 2022

The Romsey Beer Race – my favourite race of the year. And due to COVID, a race that hasn’t been held since June 2019. So it’s been a while.

I’ve done this race five times before. I just love it! The course is undulating but is in such a beautiful, picturesque location and the weather is usually pretty good, albeit sometimes a bit too hot. This year however it was very cool and cloudy. The perfect race conditions.

Though I usually hate to actually race as running fast isn’t really my thing. I prefer a long slow run (or a marathon!). But there’s something about this race that gets me going. Every time I’ve done it I’ve given it a good go.

Kyle had floated the idea of running together and pushing each other on earlier in the week but I said I wasn’t sure because I didn’t know if I wanted to race or not. But as Kyle and I drove into the area I started to get the buzz and asked him if he still wanted to. He (semi jokingly) said that maybe we should run our own race as he didn’t want me to “hold him back”. Trash talk, I see. He was joking but in reality we both knew we’d rather run separately than run together. I was happy with that!

The night before my parents had looked after Isaac so we were both feeling pretty good with our solid night’s sleep (something of a rarity these days!). We met my parents and Isaac there, as well as Kyle’s mum and her partner, Tony. Kyle’s brother and his girlfriend also turned up to support too. A lovely support group!

We positioned ourselves fairly near the front. With less than 400 runners this wasn’t too scary but still scary enough. The front runners are VERY fast and I definitely don’t measure up to them but we wanted to give ourselves a good chance to get going quickly.

This worked well as the front runners sped off (as did Kyle) and I didn’t have to wind past anyone and people didn’t have to wind past me. Straight away I felt like I was good to give it my best, whatever that would look like. I had the buzz and my legs were feeling good.

We ran round the cricket pitch, then we ran up the road to where the bulk of the supporters were, including our family. I’ve done this race so many times, as have my parents in supporting it, so they knew exactly where to stand for a great spot.

They cheered us on and up we went to our first grinding hill. It’s a fairly long incline, pretty much the entire first mile. Kyle was ahead – I used him as motivation to keep on grinding and try to get faster.

I knew I’d have the advantage on the downhills as Kyle tends to slow down whereas I have a bit more of an “run with abandon” approach to downhills. Though Kyle is stronger on the uphills.

I caught up with him using that downhill and slowly, slowly overtook him. I jokingly said “well done” as I ran past. The banter between us was very friendly, I want this to be clear. I wasn’t rubbing it in, and he wasn’t annoyed. We both agreed it was good that we were racing each other as it pushed us both on.

I spent the rest of the race knowing Kyle was right on my tail. It was definitely a motivator. I didn’t want him to overtake me! And it pushed him on because he obviously did want to catch up.

Anyway, the race continued with a few more undulations. I was at a huge advantage having run this race five times before to know roughly how long these would last – not as long as the first one, but some steeper. Because I knew the course so well I could judge my speed to know if I could maintain my pace. I felt quite comfortable, as comfortable as you can be trying your hardest. What I mean is, that while I was definitely on the pain train and my legs were burning, I knew I could maintain it.

It also felt incredible short because I’ve only really been running marathons over the last few years! Five miles of pain was a lot different to 26.2 miles of tough sustained exertion (and only painful in the last few minutes). I felt confident.

And then my shoelace came undone. I had a new pair of Brook Adrenalines on and the laces are a bit short and shiny, so don’t tie together that well. Urghh what an utter pain! I stopped on the side and tried to tie it up as quickly as I could. Kyle was just far enough behind that he didn’t get a chance to overtake as I was off again quickly.

It probably took 5-10 seconds and then I was motivated to make up for lost time so realistically it didn’t affect things at all, I don’t think. It merely stopped the memento, which I was able to regain again quickly.

I got to the final stretch, before you head into the field to do the lap around it before finishing.

I still felt like Kyle was just behind me so used that to keep pushing but I was fading. I barely had a sprint finish in me.

If Kyle was on my shoulder he definitely could have out-sprinted me as he has such a good sprint finish.

My finishing time was 33:49 (my PB is still 33:43). Kyle finished 34:48. We were both really happy with our times. We had some banter at the end, as you do, but it was all in good fun. We’ve actually decided to go head-to-head in our next parkrun (tomorrow) to see what will happen.

Kyle is much better at shorter distances. I’m much better at longer, slower distances. Over a 5k will be very interesting. My prediction is that Kyle will speed ahead straight away and be ahead of me for most of the race. Then it’s up to me to try and overtake, which will be such a big ask considering how fast I think Kyle will go. If I’m honest, I don’t think I’ll be able to beat Kyle. He’s been running some solid 5ks and he has that power in his legs which I don’t.

We will see 😉 The trash talk in the house this week has been amusing. But as long as we both put some welly into it, we’re both going to come away with solid times I think (I HOPE!) so in my eyes it’s a win win.

But anyway, back to this race. I fed Isaac after I finished which took quite a while, bless him. I sat there just desperate to get some cake but he was not letting me go anytime soon haha!

I actually came second female which was lovely because I’ve managed to place a few times at this race. I’ve now been second twice, first once and third once. Not too shabby! (I will stress again that this is a small race and previous times another local 10k has happened on the same day which a lot of the speedy club runners were more drawn to).

Finally I was able to grab a cake (a blondie) and a beer (for my dad) and we waited around to get my prize.

The weather was warm enough to not be uncomfortable but not need a coat. The after bit is one of my favourite parts of this race as it’s just so friendly and you can chat to different people while enjoying a lovely cake and drink.

I then collected my “medal” – a beer glass, love it! (Oh by the way, the first place female was INCREDIBLE. I didn’t have a chance in hell of even being remotely her competition, she smashed it!)

And then we headed off to one of our favourite pubs, the Osborne View, for a roast. It was such a lovely day. I’ll definitely be signing up again next year. It’s such a well run, friendly and fun event.

Now on to the smackdown with Kyle… 😉