leyton.org

Firstly, very best wishes for a recovery to Shannon, who I understand collapsed during the race, and was airlifted to hospital as a precautionary measure. Look forward to seeing you at a run again very soon. 

Last year I ran this race, and set a new 10k PB of 45:01 and came away thinking what a great race it was. It was a bit narrow in places, and the slightly icy conditions we’d had made it a bit perilous, but all in all it was a great run. This year, despite setting a new PB of 44:21, I’m feeling a bit disappointed.

Conditions didn’t help. Whilst the conditions had been great at the earlier Glasgow parkrun, the wind had picked up a bit, and the canal course was much muddier than last year. A much larger turnout too (347 participants, compared to 262 last year) meant a lot more passing, and my poor start positioning (I almost always start too far back) meant I had to do quite a lot more, and got held up a fair bit.

My splits tell the story: 4.21, 4.36, 4.22, 4.24, 4.29, 4.34, 4.36, 4.28, 4.36, 4.03. Whilst my Garmin got the course distance correct, I wondered along the way if the km markers were perhaps a bit squiffy. But from my own experience with the parkrun, Garmin’s are a bit of a nightmare for race organisers: So many experts are created with these GPS devices, and they’re usually wrong.

I’d been aiming for times consistently under 4.25 to get close to a 43 minute time. After setting off and winding through the housing estate, the 1km marker was a short distance along the canal. At this point I really realised my poor start position choice, as I was stuck behind a few slower runners that took me a while to get past. Too many trees, and the narrow canal path. I managed to squeeze past, and past a few others at the first turn when we crossed the canal. I settled in and set a good couple of splits, passing fellow Bella Iain, and setting my targets on Norman, who’s always been a great pacer. I decided to just hang on and see how I felt. Eventually I managed to edge pass Norman around the 6k split, but my timing wasn’t good,  as we rounded a corner into a stiff and cold headwind, and started the gradual incline up for the second canal crossing.  My splits between 5k and 8k are much worse than I’d wanted, and the stiff headwind and incline took their toll. Norman eased back past me between 7k and 8k, and it was all I could do to hang on.

The 8-9 km section was tough. The canal path gets a bit more uneven, and I found myself in a pack of runners. There wasn’t too much hope of finding enough in me to get past, but we all managed to keep each other going, although Norman was easing further away. Whilst I somehow managed to find a bit more in my legs in the last 1k, it wasn’t enough to catch him. Norman finished in 44.12, and I managed 44.21.

As fellow club runner Andy commented afterwards, “A PB’s still a PB”, and I certainly take some delight from reducing my 10k PB from last years 45.01, I’d taken a full minute off my Nigel Barge time last year. This year I managed to take only 15s off the time. But if I’m searching for excuses for not getting a 43 minute time, the larger competitive field, and less than ideal conditions, combined with my poor start position, are probably the answer. As well as finding my 10k times don’t quite fit with what I’d expect from my half marathon and 5k times.

This will probably be my last 10k until after I’ve finished the London Marathon. I’m taking some succour from fellow club runner Ewan’s comments that after finishing the Florence marathon last year, he’s found a new burst of speed in his legs. The marathon training improved his endurance, and it’s precisely endurance I struggle with, at the brisker 10k pace.

So, despite a new PB, I’m still feeling a little bit disappointed it wasn’t faster. But there’s a definite challenge for my post-London running, and that’s no bad thing

See also

• 2009 Jack Crawford 10k Results 
• Norman’s write-up