Race Date: Friday 18th April 2025

When asked about running the marathon for the first time the usual advice given by one of the Steel City coaches is don’t, or at least not yet. There’s a wealth of other things to do so find out what you’re good at first as you’ll never know until you at least try. Luke Tipping only runs marathons however, usually two each year, and he’s quite good at it with a pb of 2:36:31. There’s the occasional half marathon whilst the last time that he raced over 10k was in 2021 which is a pity as he’s quite good at that too.

Luke gives a detailed view of how things went.

This was my first 10k race since the 2021 edition of the Percy Pud. (33:53). After years of focusing on the marathon, I’d been looking forward to testing myself over the distance again and was intrigued to see how my endurance training, and relative lack of speed work, would play out on race day. Salford 10k had been recommended as flat and fast, so seemed like a solid choice for my return to the distance. And the date is an added bonus, too. Scheduling a race on the morning of Good Friday is a brilliant idea! Get the race done early and have the rest of the 4-day weekend to enjoy.

Having signed up at the end of November, shortly after my last marathon, the intention was to use the winter for some more specific 10k-focused training as part of a build to the Great Bristol Run (half marathon) in May but bad weather and that cold that seemingly everyone had but no one could get rid of disrupted what should’ve been my peak training weeks. The best laid plans and all that… Having lost 3 or 4 weeks through February and March, it was a question of fitting in what I could, focusing mainly on threshold work and longer reps around target 10k pace.

Race day came around and we made the trip to (not so) sunny Salford early on, aiming to avoid the inevitable chaos. As it turned out, we weren’t early enough! The tiny car park was full, the nearby streets were a nightmare and runners were absolutely everywhere warming up on roads which remain open during the race.

Runners gathered by the starting mats that were waiting be rolled out onto the road while volunteers and marshals held traffic. With a suitable gap in traffic, the mats were put in place and all of a sudden, we were off. I felt in good shape, confident of a PB, aiming for something around low 33-minutes. My first mile was quicker than I’d have liked (5:18), a result of trying to find a decent position after the chaotic start as we climbed the hill. (Editor: Luke exaggerates somewhat, according to Strava total elevation is 85ft although Luke told me that it felt like a mountain on the second lap.) After that, I found some rhythm, moving through miles 2-4 at (5:25 pace) as I completed the first lap and made it back up to the top of the hill. I think a marshal shouted 16:41 as I completed the first 5k, which I was happy with as I still felt ok at that point. It didn’t last…

My lack of experience over the distance showed in mile 5 as I slipped back to 5:30 pace, feeling very much like I was clinging on for dear life. Determined not to finish with a whimper, I think the marathon mentality kicked in and I managed to grind out a 5:19 for the final mile, crossing the line in 33:27. A 26-second PB. Despite the disrupted build up and chaotic start, it was great to test myself over the 10k distance again. Different to a marathon, where it’s mostly a battle with yourself, it was a lot of fun racing for position and seeing just how long I could hold on for. That being said, I’m not in a rush to do it again!