Race date: Sunday, 21 July 2019

Race report by Ben Stittle

A quick trip up the M18 and over the M180 saw 4 (possibly 5 – seen another in one of the pics but can’t find in the results?) Striders take on what turned out to be a great event in Grimsby!

We lined up on the start line for a 10am start just as the sun started to shine bright and the temperature started to rise. Off we went for what I thought would be a fairly lonely 10k around the grim streets of Grimsby. Oh how wrong I was!!

All bar 1 mile of dual carriageway, the course was almost over supported! The crowds had come out in their masses to cheer on around 3000 runners. A special mention goes to a young chap called Tony who, along with a few of his house (care home) mates, came out to cheer us on whilst celebrating his 100th birthday!

The course was fairly straightforward with little undulation and very few turns. Water stations were regular, 3 in total to be precise (in a 10k!!!!). For fun they decided to throw in a “mad mile” which appeared around 6k in – a chance for you to over exert yourself and blow up before the finish line. The finish itself was on grass in a park which was a hive of activity for the waiting spectators – food and drink cabins, play areas for the kids, and a live brass band.

For me it turned out to be a really good day, managing to break my pb by over a minute. Some strong performances from Nicola, Mo and Matt were also recorded – Nicola finishing as 5th lady!

The only downside to the day was the clock on the finishing straight. Evidently this was running 60 seconds faster than it should have been. I know both Nicola and myself ran without overall time and pace on our watches so to see one time as you cross the line, to then check your watch and notice the error it made it a little confusing in the moments after the finish.

This is a race I will definitely be revisiting next year though. A fairly priced race with a great t-shirt and medal for all finishers. Can highly recommend!

3043 runners finished the course. The race was won by Lewis Jagger of Sheffield and Dearne AC, in 30:09. First woman (23rd overall) was Calli Thackery of Hallamshire Harriers, in 35:13.

Striders results: