Race date: 8 July 2022

Race distance: 1 mile!

Race report by Jonathan Legon

What a great evening of running! It’s not often I get to race on a track, but whenever I do I really enjoy it and this was no exception. My partner never normally watches me run because it’s more often than not watching me run off into the distance and waiting patiently for 40 odd minutes, or an hour and a half, or worse over 3 hours for me to return! On one occasion she came all the way to London to watch me run the marathon and she didn’t see me at all! Sorry, I digress. On this occasion she came to watch me perform for all of 6 minutes, less 2 seconds! There were 6 ‘serious’ races plus the beer mile on a warm, but not oppressive evening. I really enjoyed watching all the races and there was a great atmosphere with all the competitors being cheered over the line. I turned up with a faint hope of being competitive in my race but after one lap five of my fellow competitors dashed any hopes I had of achieving a place on the podium leaving me far behind. However, I was slightly surprised when the timekeeper announced 1:26 after that first lap and didn’t think I could possibly keep up such a blistering pace…..and I was right! I didn’t fade too badly though and was extremely happy to cross the line in just under 6 minutes in sixth place. Full results can be found at the end but congratulations go to the six race winners: Race F winner was Jason Kelwick, E race winner was Kevin Haighton, D race winner was Emily Green, C race winner was Chris Lawson, B race winner was Robert Cook and the A race winner was Ryan Sheppeck in an impressive time of 4:45 (something I’ll be working towards over the next year!) Winner of the very entertaining beer mile was Tom Bassindale in an even more impressive time of 6:47! Much to my surprise there was only one incidence of throwing up, and that was after he had finished, so he didn’t have to run an extra lap! Although I came sixth I was very happy to receive my first ever first place medal for coming out on top of my V55 category! Not only that I also walked away with a very nice commemorative buff. A big thank you to all those involved in the organisation of this great event and also to all of the volunteers who made it run so smoothly.

Race results: category winners