So this time last year I was running the New Forest Marathon with my friend Mike. This year I went for significantly fewer miles by doing the 10k.
I wasn’t actually planning on doing this race at all but through work I got a free place for the 10k (I work for Wiggle, the online sports retailers). I didn’t want to go for any sort of crazy PB, mainly because I hate racing 10ks and because I have a marathon a week later. It’s also not really a PB course.
Sunday morning I headed to the New Forest with Kyle, my lovely supporter, to meet with Connor, another fellow Wiggler doing the 10k and his girlfriend and little girl. We didn’t get there particularly early but really didn’t need to.
I knew the set-up of the race village having been there last year and knew collecting my bib in the morning wouldn’t be too hard. Everything was easy peasy and it was a nice touch to get a free water bottle, sweat wristband and the race t-shirt there and then. Though I wouldn’t be wearing it to race in. I find that quite odd when people do that… what if it chafes?
The race village is quite cool. There’s lots going on with different running-related stalls and foodie bits. I guess it makes a lot of sense considering there’s a 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon happening.
I went to the loo and then Connor arrived a bit flustered having been caught up in some traffic en route. This was his first real running race and he wasn’t sure what he needed to do. He picked up his bib and then almost forgot to actually pin it on!
Then Connor and I headed to the start area where we half-heartedly did some warming up.
Then it was time to head to the start-line. Connor was looking to beat his PB, which was around 55 minutes, and I said I’d try and help him. To be fair, Connor has never really run a 10k race before and could easily get under that time from the way he’s been running recently so I didn’t think this would be too much of an ask for him (hardly needs my help!).
It worried me a little bit that Connor’s intention was to go all gun’s blazing right from the start (this isn’t really how I roll) but actually we took the first mile fairly conservatively. It wasn’t crazy busy but we did have to do some maneuvering around people.
The course was nice and soft trail and nothing too off-roady. No mud or puddles and firm underfoot. There wasn’t a huge amount of sun either but it was still fairly humid.
We chatted as we ran and I found the pace quite comfortable. I mean, we’re not talking a walk in the park here but not lungs-busting or difficult to maintain. We could carry on a conversation.
I was expecting the course to be quite undulating, having done the marathon, but actually it wasn’t that bad at all. There were a couple of longer inclines and a bridge to go over but actually it was reasonably flat. The bridge bit was funny because there were signs that said “wet feet” and “dry feet” pointing the different routes… take the bridge to avoid the water basically! Everyone chose the bridge of course.
Around three miles the conversation between Connor and I had quietened down and I felt him focusing on running strong and maintaining the now faster pace. Every time I overtook someone I checked behind me and Connor zoomed straight up next to me. He was doing amazingly.
I like the above photo because I was just randomly taking a selfie while running and didn’t realise the woman behind waving as well. Hehe! There were signs intermittently that were quite humorous (“Smile if you’re not wearing underpants” – that kind of thing). Little things like this add to the race I think. And the scenery of course was gorgeous. No cars, no road, just forest and nature.
At a mile to go I felt I could give a good burst of speed but I felt Connor just slightly drifting behind me so I tried to maintain the speed I was at instead. It’s hard when you’re trying to pace someone. You don’t know how much to push them and how much to try and encourage them without sounding like a patronising twat or just annoying them.
There was a good amount of support around the course and the marshals were lovely and helpful. There were a lot of young volunteers as well so I made sure to thank them.
The finishing straight was packed full of support and I sprinted to the end, knowing Connor wasn’t too far behind me. My time was 46:08, 7th female and 4th in my age category. Not too shabby! Connor’s time was 46:27, smashing his PB quite substantially!!
We collected our race medals, water, banana and then our race goodie bag. The goodie bag contained biscuits which I thought was a bit odd… because that’s exactly what you want after a humid race, dry biscuits.
I felt really good. The race hadn’t felt too tough and I got faster as it continued. The paces were quite zippy as well for me but I felt comfortable. Hopefully this means I’m in good standing right now in terms of fitness!
I spotted the stage where the person who had warmed us up had stood and persuaded Connor to jump onto it for a quick cheeky photo. It was just too good an opportunity!
Then after chatting a bit more to Connor and his girlfriend, Kyle and I headed off to find the car. Finding the car was a mission in itself to be honest. Genuinely took us like 10 minutes of pacing around a field of cars to find my car. My car (a Fiat 500) is quite small so this doesn’t help. EVENTUALLY we found it and could get moving. Thankfully, unlike the marathon last year, it was plain sailing to get out of the ‘car park’ (field).
I fully recommend these races. They’re friendly, scenic and nice and relaxed, but attract a good crowd of people to help get the buzz going. I’m pleased that I felt strong and my paces were speedy. Let’s hope this translates well for my marathon on Sunday!
Do you enjoy 10ks?
Do you prefer road races or races that are more off-road/trail?
Have you ever paced someone? It seems to be a theme for my in for the New Forest races as I paced Mike during the marathon last year too.