Before the race we agreed that Matthew would do the write up for this one as it was his first proper road race. However, it's fallen to me as will become clear towards the end.
Having spent the last few days ill since going down with some virus on Wednesday night, I was not all sure about running this one, but there were a few things that twisted my arm
Having spent the last few days ill since going down with some virus on Wednesday night, I was not all sure about running this one, but there were a few things that twisted my arm
- I'd already paid (hey, I'm a Yorkshire man!)
- I had to take Matthew in any case
- It would be my first ever 5k race
Actually, running when you are still sick is just plain stupid really! I don't advise it.
It was a glorious day, and there was a good Spen turnout, with runners in the 1k fun run and the main race. The race started on commercial street, heading out to the bus depot, before turning left down the hill towards the railway station, then back up Horton Street, to repeat part of the same loop, then on the 2nd loop, continuing on past the station before heading back up towards the town centre, and taking a left to come into the side gate of the Piece Hall. A nice route, with plenty of undulations.
The section towards the bus depot is pan flat, so the start was pretty quick. I managed to keep Keith somewhere in sight for about 2km before I lost him (or he lost me) entirely. The last 2km was when the 3 days of sickenss took it's toll for me and I faded badly. Although finished with 20:07 by my watch, which was ok under the circumstances.
At the finish, I was somewhat surprised to see Matthew already there, since I past him in the first km and didn't remember him coming back past me. He hadn't passed me, he'd dropped out complaining of stomach pain.
Keith was first Spen runner home, followed by me, Tim, Jackie and Amanda.
This is definitely a race I'd do again (hopefully when fit though). Good organisation, good route, and a great finish area in the Piece Hall. The weather this year obviously helped, as it was blazing sunshine, but I'd recommend the race to anyone. It's not a PB course, too much up and down for that, just a cracking race.
It was a glorious day, and there was a good Spen turnout, with runners in the 1k fun run and the main race. The race started on commercial street, heading out to the bus depot, before turning left down the hill towards the railway station, then back up Horton Street, to repeat part of the same loop, then on the 2nd loop, continuing on past the station before heading back up towards the town centre, and taking a left to come into the side gate of the Piece Hall. A nice route, with plenty of undulations.
The section towards the bus depot is pan flat, so the start was pretty quick. I managed to keep Keith somewhere in sight for about 2km before I lost him (or he lost me) entirely. The last 2km was when the 3 days of sickenss took it's toll for me and I faded badly. Although finished with 20:07 by my watch, which was ok under the circumstances.
At the finish, I was somewhat surprised to see Matthew already there, since I past him in the first km and didn't remember him coming back past me. He hadn't passed me, he'd dropped out complaining of stomach pain.
Keith was first Spen runner home, followed by me, Tim, Jackie and Amanda.
This is definitely a race I'd do again (hopefully when fit though). Good organisation, good route, and a great finish area in the Piece Hall. The weather this year obviously helped, as it was blazing sunshine, but I'd recommend the race to anyone. It's not a PB course, too much up and down for that, just a cracking race.
Spen ResultsKeith and Jackie each won their age categories!
9 Keith McGhie M45 17:50
35 Chris Jones M45 20:07
59 Tim Wragg M40 21:18
93 Jackie Carter F45 23:25
172 Amanda Pearson F40 30:29
234 finishers
Full Results Here
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2 comments:
glad someone else thinks that it's not a pb course, good one though and i will do it again ,
whoopee, i won a prize, what a shame i wasn't there to collect it , because i had decided to run home to make up my mileage.
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