Race Report: Crewe 10k 08/04/2012

For me, Easter Sunday usually means chocolate eggs and an extra long weekend but this year it also meant taking part in the Crewe 10km.  

Since signing up for this race I’d heard a mixture of positive and negative comments about the course including that it was flat, fast, uninspiring, boring and repetitive but, ever the optimist, I was not put off.  It was my first 10km race in about 14 months and my first for Sandbach Striders so I wanted to give it a good go.

As usual, I was ridiculously early for the race and the drizzle seemed to be getting heavier as I sat in my car trying to decide what the temperature was going to do. After coming to the conclusion that I need to toughen up, I bravely decided to ditch my hat and set off for the start.

At the start we (Paul B, Paul N, Perry, Giles, Rick, Yvonne and I) found Jason, Jo and family had arrived to provide both encouragement and photographic support. We also discovered that Paul Nicholls had only managed to get to the race thanks to Perry who had gone out of his way to drive from Middlewich to Chester to pick him up.  It’s kindness like this that makes Sandbach Striders what it is – a great club.

For me, and hopefully for everyone else, the race started well and the field soon spread out which gave me plenty room so I didn’t need to worry about treading on people’s heels.  As I turned left into the first industrial estate I had to watch out for the over-hanging branches of the trees that lined the pavement as I didn’t really feel like losing an eye - especially not on the first lap!

As promised the route was flat and was made up of two laps of a 5km route through some of Crewe’s finest industrial estates.  You’ll be glad to read that I’m not going to describe them in great detail as I’m afraid the bits I can remember have already blended into one.  However, I can remember that if I was looking to buy a new car I would have had ample opportunity to look at a variety of makes and models including BMW, Honda and Ford.

The first kilometre marker I saw was for 8 km.  This wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t been on the first lap after I’d only run approximately 3 km but after that the markers were clear to see. There were quite a number of marshals offering encouragement and, of course, there were the fellow Striders providing support just before the finish.

As I crossed the finish line I realised there was no clock and, as I haven’t used my watch for ages due to the lack of a working battery, I had no idea what my time was until Monday evening; I managed 47:32 not a PB but not too bad – I’m just pleased I got out there and took part. 

Thanks to the atmosphere within the club my attitude to racing is changing and the worrying thing is I may even be starting to enjoy it! 

For more information, visit the South Cheshire Harriers website.

Jo