Through the wind and the rain...

So, I've returned just about alive from another 10k, this being in the little village of Stillington in the great vast nowhere north of York. It's a course which people would generally describe as 'rolling', which roughly translated means 'All the gradients are under 10%, but only just'. So, what have we learned from this race?

• Reverse handicaps are great in theory, but they mean that when you try to sprint dramaticallyat the end, you have to play chicanes to get around the veritable moshpit of people running in front of you.



• This is also tricky when there's a 90 degree bend to negotiate to get over the finishing line, at least if you don't fancy going base-over-apex in loose gravel.



• The staggered start also means waiting around at the beginning for some time, and when you're due to be called up, the heady combination of nervous tension, adrenaline and pre-race caffiene will cause you to shoot off into the sunset at a pace that only Wanjiru and colleagues can sustain.



• Wearing sunglasses in the rain will cause you to go almost completely blind, and make you rely on the brightly-coloured running vests out front to keep you on course.

Yup, par to course, last night the heavens opened halfway into the race, causing the fields and woods of Yorkshire to resemble monsoon season. Refreshing, perhaps, but it makes you concentrate when hurtling at breakneck speeds down the last hill to the finish line. All in all though, it was a fun course to do, and with a respectable 47:40ish time (The race wasn't measured accurately), I came close to a PB on a course which wasn't as flat as the plains, which I can certainly cope with. Oh, and because they're shiny, here's the speed/distance graph from last night. If only I could run the entire thing at 4:50 eh?

Anyway, short break from running as I go to visit bonnie Scotland for a few days, but I will be back with more news and race reviews next week!



Good running!



Matt