Stratford Summer Six - 01 July 2006...

Distance: 6 miles

In a time of...
hh:mm:ss
00:42:23

Finishing Position: 48
Number of finishers: 180
Putting me in the top: 26.6%

One of my strangest events ever. This was an evening event which started not long before the sun was due to start setting. Now I've never done an evening event before and it was nice, but confusing to prepare for. Should I eat an early dinner? Or a late lunch and eat again afterwards? To be honest I can't remember what I did, but the outcome left me with a smile on my face so I won't moan! I was to enter the race with Howard, who was by this point slightly concerned after my relatively close finish at the Two Castles run. I was excited but still fairly sure that I'd finish behind Howard, I did however remain hopeful.

Our race build-up couldn't have gone much worse. After colouring my hair in the appearance of St. George's flag (following England's World Cup match), Howard and I left home to make the short journey to Wilmcote just outside Stratford. We'd left nice and early so we could have a drive around the course and see what we were up against. A relatively simple course, starting in Wilmcote before heading out towards Aston Cantlow, with a steep descent in the first mile which was to become a steep uphill struggle in the last mile. The circuit looped around Aston Cantlow through country lanes before heading back into Wilmcote and finishing at Mary Arden's House.

As we were heading back to the Start/Finish area, I realised I'd forgotten my Asthma Inhaler, so a quick drive home to get the inhaler, and a quick drive back were required. We had no time to properly warm-up other than a jog to the start line. Literally seconds after reaching the start line we were off! Notably near to the front I was conscious that it would be all too easy to start off too quickly, but had decided that I wanted to keep Howard within my sights. I kept one eye on him whilst looking out for the rest of my family who I knew were spectating, not something that I'd normally pay too much attention to whilst racing but I was carrying a bunch of car keys in my hand, and need to get rid of them asap.

Following the steep descent Howard was breaking away seemingly quite easily, He'd soon be out of sight, but knowing I was pushing harder than I wanted to I was sure he couldn't keep up that pace throughout the rest of the race. Around the 1.5 mile marker Howard wasn't breaking away any further, and as the 2 mile marker approached he was only a matter of metres ahead. I pulled level and we ran together, speaking few words but agreeing that we'd both gone off too fast. I kept going over in my head the "race strategy" I'd discussed with my father (a former runner and tri-athlete), and having stuck to the first part by keeping an eye on where he was, I knew Howard would be able to push harder at the finish and I needed to do something before then. Just before the 4 mile marker was a steady climb, the type that can just drain you further when you're already low on energy. I broke away at this point and thankfully Howard didn't retaliate. The last 2 miles were incredibly hard work and I couldn't help but keep looking over my shoulder expecting to see Howard closing in. I was grinning from ear to ear as I approached the finish line, the time wasn't important as I'd managed to finish ahead of Howard, but I was still pleased with the time I'd achieved. I cheered Howard home and there we followed the race with a great night out on the town.

A fantastic result for me, but I think Howards lack of discipline in pacing himself perhaps played into my hands a little. Not that I'm complaining.