Race date: 7 August 2022

Race distance: 16 miles (Kate Waddicor); half-marathon (Andy Telford)

Race report by Kate Waddicor

A day of races from Marathon to 5k – all on the same circuit but different start times and number of laps to complete.

I have run on race tracks before so I knew what to expect! I ran a half marathon at Oulton Park in 2017 and then ran a 10K at Goodwood earlier this year. The plus side of this type of race is that there is always lots of parking and the route is just the route – you just do a different number of laps depending on your distance. Nice to be traffic free and no roads to cross or people trying to cross the road etc. I entered the 16-mile race which was prefect for where I am with my training for Chester Marathon. I had hoped to be doing 20 miles by now but have taken a more realistic approach to increasing my long runs. So, 16 miles was definitely for me.

I met a runner at Ashbourne half marathon who said she was doing the 20-mile race and would pick me up – aren’t runners awesome? I had only met her briefly in the changing rooms, we got chatting as you do. Turned out we were both doing Chester and both looking for some longer runs for our training.

The start of the marathon was 9.00 am then other races every 15 minutes. Heather (my new found chauffeur to the race!) was setting off at 9.15 for the 20 and my start was 9.30. She agreed to pick me up at 6.00 am. It was a bit early but we both like to have plenty of time and needed to collect our numbers, recover from 2 hours in the car and have time to warm up. At that time in the morning the journey was a breeze (unlike the weather later on) and we arrived just before 8.00 am.

• Car parking – loads of space at the side of the racetrack.
• Toilets – really not busy given the number of runners milling around.
• No changing facilities but the car was near by and so we could keep changing our minds about wearing a cap or not? wearing sunglasses or not?
• Baggage – just a place to go and put your bag, but somehow I always trust fellow runners!
• Race number pick up on the day. Easy, you gave your name and race distance and you got the next available number in the appropriate colour bib for your event.

It was good to see the marathoners already on the course (yes, shorts would be fine, but then some were running in long leggings and long sleeved tops – I felt sorry for them as the day heated up but I guess people do what works for them).

The marathon started at 9.00 am and was 10 laps, for the 16 miler I had to run 6 laps

Each event had their own warm up and then someone read out anticipated finishing times and you just joined in where you thought you should be and were led onto the slip road.

I watched Heather set off then had yet another loo visit (just nervous) and a little warm-up run round the car park. Then I saw another Strider. That is always a good feeling at a race. I learned later from checking the photos and his race number and his results that it was Andy Telford who was running the half marathon.

Once we were off we followed someone on a bike who led us onto the actual track. Though there were lots of runners doing different events it did not feel crowded, the track is wide. The surface is smooth – hurrah, no kerbs or potholes to worry about, hopefully no trip hazards other than my own feet. I felt comfortable with where I had placed myself – there were only 35 people running 16 miles.

Then I just had to run. I used the first lap to work out the bends and the couple of little inclines and to see where the water station was. To be honest I did not have a plan at all other than to think of it as an opportunity to run the distance.

It was hot and getting hotter throughout the morning. I have never taken as much water on a race before. I had my own bottle of water with electrolytes (which I was pleased about). I was intending to try some gels but lost my nerve and just had a few Clif bloc chews which I know work for me (this is in spite of visiting Matt Rimmer at My Race Kit the day before and having a good chat about different gels and buying some different options to try!). I will test them but maybe when I can run near home – not at all worried about an upset stomach here!! I did pick up a couple of the gels they were giving out – something else to try in the future. A brand I have not heard of before – hilltop, a honey energy gel with added sodium (not promoting them, just saying!)

There was a medal for all finishers – we all had the same medal but with different ribbons (obviously colour coded to match the race bib). Water and protein bounce ball provided at the finish. Also cup cakes, but that was not what I fancied. Did some stretching and ate my egg sandwich – my ‘go to’ post race fuel. I watched Heather finish. We found somewhere to get photos then set off for the drive home.

Results!!

I was happy to be first FV65 (does that still count if I was the only FV65?!) and 4th female finisher out of 16 and 12th overall out of the 35 runners in the 16-mile race in a time of 2 hours 26 minutes and 26 seconds. Just outside my ‘gold plan’ time. Andy Telford was 111th in the half marathon in 2:12:45.

When I ran the half marathon here in 2017 there were prizes and I won a trophy for 1st FV60 and an Asics voucher – the event was sponsored by Asics that year. No prizes this time.

Here is a link to the event website:
https://www.runthrough.co.uk/events-timeline/