Race Date: Sunday 25th March 2018
Having only been training regularly for a few months post-injury and barely remembering the last time I raced, I was feeling apprehensive about the Gainsborough 10K. How fast (or, perhaps more appropriately, how slowly) would I be able to run? Would I struggle? Would I make it round at all? It was also my first outing in my Striders vest!
With these worries in mind I was feeling slightly out my depth upon arrival. Gainsborough is a flat and popular course and does attract some exceptionally fast club runners. But I needn’t have worried – the sun was shining, music was playing, people were chatting and there was a friendly and fun pre-race atmosphere. The facilities were good – plenty of portaloos, changing facilities and quiet roads ideal for warming up. The starting area was also only a short walk away. My only slight quibble is that the race headquarters were signed slightly confusingly from the main road – but it didn’t cause any problems!
Nicola leading the chasing bunch. Credit John Rainsforth
The weather was ideal – sunny but not too hot with barely any wind. These conditions combined with the virtually totally flat course meant PB potential for those in shape and for anyone looking for a 10K PB in future I really would recommend this race. Keep on the lookout for entries though, as they fill up fast!
The race takes those taking part along closed, quiet roads and through a few villages meaning the support on route is a bit sparse – but I didn’t find this much of a problem as there were plenty of other runners around me.There were prominent kilometre markers, a water station at half-way and plenty of marshals. The course isn’t tough in terms of terrain but it does involve a lot of long, straight roads that seem to take forever to reach the end of – I’ve found races like this tough mentally in the past, so this is something to consider if you enter next time. The final kilometre is all downhill and here the support really did increase – a real help when you’re starting to count down to the finish! I ran 43.13 – following a tough year of injury and inconsistency I was pleased, especially to have run a negative split and to find myself reeling people in on the way home.
The first man home was Lewis Jagger of Sheffield Running Club in a time of 31.16
The first lady home was Sarah Garbutt in 35.53.
Striders Results:
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time |
| 118 | Nicola Birch | F Sen | 43.13 |
| 455 | Laura Pope | F Sen | 58.33 |
Full Results: here
Laura Pope with camp followers in tow. We believe that those are shadows on the road caused by a strange thing called the Sun. Credit John Rainsforth