Rob's Running Blog

Boggart Chase 10k Race – Hot & Sunny – 51m 40s PB!

This was a race I had been a bit apprehensive about, not least because I had been feeling so tired earlier in the week. I took 3 days off running to try to let my energy levels return to normal, and concentrated on some other stuff. I was also thinking the nature of the course (undulating) would prevent me from another PB, just when I was on a roll!

The race started at 11:15, so I had ordered my taxi for 10. I got there with plenty of time to spare and managed to locate the toilets. I also had chance to enjoy watching the 3k fun run for young athletes before getting myself geared up for the main event. I did some stretches and for a minute thought I had damaged my hamstring but it was just a spasm as I managed to go and jog around the track a few times, and after a few trips to the loo it was time to be under starters orders!

This was quite a small race compared to some I’ve done, so I milled around near the back of the pack as usual, and then the horn went. Starting off on the track was a bit confusing – we did 2 and a bit laps before heading off on to the road, so I asked this lady I was passing if it was all on the track, lol! I set off pretty slowly, trying not to go off madly, and just get into a rhythm, as I knew some hills were coming and didn’t want to blow up half way through the race. Off we went on to the road and things were already thinned out where I was. A veteran lady (Louise Gilchrist) I have seen at other races came past me, and we headed into the park, down something of a slope, as I clocked the first k in 4:39, and then another couple of ladies overtook me, then we reached the first hill, where I powered up and overtook the ladies and the veteran, and left them behind, as well as leaving behind some people who were clearly knackered by the top of the hill and I must admit my legs felt a bit wobbly, but I just carried on trying to maintain my pace. Weaving around the park was lovely, it was lovely and sunny but I was feeling pretty hot already, just kept reminding myself of all the training, and just to keep going.

Further on, the veteran lady and the other two ladies came past me again as we went round an out and back cone extension thing, and then we got to the biggest hill of the course and I took them again there and left them behind again. Just after the cone extension there were some small dogs wandering around off leads, the marshall nearby had obviously told this woman to leash them, because she was yelling, “Yeah, I’m selfish aren’t I, you miserable, nasty old bast&*$”. I’m sure she would have been delighted if a runner had run into one of the beasts injuring the thing. By that point I had been running sub 50 pace, my splits for the first 3-4 k were all under 5 minutes but the hills were double whammies – first slowing me going up them, and then the sapping effect they had on legs and energy, so about k’s 6. 7 and 8 I lost quite a bit of time. I kept digging deep, and there were some people in the distance in front of me who I caught over the last 2k. The ladies and veteran caught me again, but I left them on the hill again, and thereafter I overtook some people and there was one chap I clung to like glue but he still passed the line a second before me – the hills had taken it out of my legs, and although I was motoring the last 200m, I couldn’t really call it a sprint! I stopped the Garmin at 51:40 – and was amazed that I had had taken a chunk off my PB again – when the last PB was gained on a flat PB course in perfect conditions 🙂

My Garmin went a bit haywire in the last 2k – it was clocking k’s just shy of the markers all the way round, and then towards the end it showed 8.4k, and next time I looked it had gone down to 8.27, and was stuck at 8.5 when I went past the 9k marker. Figure it must have been the extesive foliage overhead, as I don’t have a supersensitive GPS model, just the old Forerunner 101! Still, it did me good for the time and the early splits – I know now on a flat course, I can run sub 50 pace for the first 5k, and without hills to sap my speed and energy, I feel confident I could maintain that for another 5k. Now I just need another 10k race, but there may not be one until the spring, so it’s time to look at my winter strategy and I aim to smash through 50 minutes first race back next season 🙂