Race report by John Liddle

The Tommy 10k Run – 1046 runners took part

Three Striders (Peter & Caroline Brash as well as John Liddle) chose to venture to the North East town of Seaham to participate in a race organised by Wild Deer Events called the Tommy Run 10k on Sunday 3^rd November. For those of you needing a little geography guidance, think of Sunderland and come south along the coast by 5-6 miles. This race always takes place on the Sunday prior to Remembrance Sunday and comprises a route along the sea front on a mixture of road, paths, promenade, and some trail paths.

Peter & Caroline had chosen to make a long weekend of it and by all accounts, had a swinging time enjoying all the facilities a chilly North East town provides in the Winter months. I chose to meet them on the Sunday morning and after a short walk to the start from their uniquely styled accommodation, we checked in, collected our race numbers and mingled around with over 1000 other runners in keen anticipation. The weather was kind, 12 degrees, minimal wind and certainly no need for multiple layers which runs in November often require.

The event starts alongside the Tommy War Memorial statue of a First World War soldier which is close to the Seaham war memorial, right by the seafront. Seaham appears to be very respectful of our war heroes with multiple commemoration monuments and sculptures in the town. Nb. It really is a lovely small coastal town with several independent café’s providing delicious menu options – there are many worse places to visit. An impeccably observed 1 minute’s silence was held prior to the start by all the runners.

As none of us had participated in this race before, we weren’t sure what was in store. Chattering’s we overheard were that it was a slightly different course to previous years……clearly this didn’t help ! However, 9:30am came and we were off, initially turning north and running on the main road out of the town for a mile or so, undulating at times until a cone placed in the road signalled a 360 degree turn to run back a short way before descending onto the coastal path.

 

This path with a cliff on one side and the sea on the other was racetrack flat which made for what was to come, even more of a shock. After a couple of further turns around a cone to run in the opposite direction, the path climbed back onto the level of the main road up an incline which makes Blake Street look like a leisurely jog. Many walked up (there was no shame in walking), I tried to continue a jog of some description, in reality this was no faster than walking !

The route then heads south out of the town, passing such notable landmarks as B&M, Costa and Asda. I thought, this is ok, a little undulating but 3 more miles on roads and I’m done. We then however veered left and ran 2 miles around what was off-road, was it a nature reserve ? the paths were gravel in places, muddy in others, certainly hilly and for a fair bit, single file. A couple of the hills were almost as speed numbing as the previous climb and whilst I had hoped for c.50 minutes before I started, it was rapidly becoming apparent to me that I would be a fair bit wide of the mark.

The final mile heads (fortunately) mainly slightly downhill back into the town and finishes where we started in the main town square with a large crowd of people shouting encouragement. Strangely, the route measured long at 10.18km (even on their course route map) and as there were at least three turning points with cones which could have been adjusted, none of us understood why. This issue did lead to some debate which continued as we consumed vastly more calories in Wetherspoons after the run, than we exhausted during the event.

However, this was a minor point, the marshals were plentiful and very smiley, a couple of water stations were in position during the run for those who wanted refreshments, and the locals came out and applauded in earnest. The microphone chap even gave SCS a shout out and said ‘welcome to our Sheffield runners’ as I crossed the line which was a nice touch.  We queued up after the finish for a bottle of water, a choice of Cola or beer, a snack bar and a quality race t-shirt – excellent value for the entry cost.

As well as being a little long, it was a relatively tough route which the first finishers’ times indicate. There was something about the event though, it was fun – yes there were fast runners but not overwhelmingly so. Entries are already open for next year and I know of three Striders who will be running it !!

Striders Results: