Welcombe Wobbler 10k XC Race - 21 October 2007...

Distance: 10k (6.2 miles)

In a time of...
hh:mm:ss
00:40:53

Finishing Position: 16
Number of finishers: 91
Putting me in the top: 17.5%

What an unbelievable day this was, I can't remember a day when I've felt both so very down and out and later completely ecstatic and elated! And so the story begins…

This day was supposed to be the day I had my revenge on the one race that I felt had defeated me in 2006 – The Godiva Half Marathon, though it seemed destined not to be from the outset. The week before, I'd missed the postal entry deadline for the Godiva Half Marathon and just managed to hand deliver my race entry form within an hour of the final race entry deadline. Come race day I'd had a good nights sleep and had eaten my breakfast, I set out to collect my partner from a friends house where she'd been partying the night before, I was ready to drop her off at home and immediately head off for the race start in Coventry. Obviously that would be far too simple though – a problem with my car's brakes meant I chose not to risk the journey to Coventry… though with 25minutes left to the start of the race the brakes were fixed! Only problem being I was a 30minute drive away from the race!

I decided to accept defeat and not make the journey. I was truly gutted; I'd trained for this race and had been itching to get to the start line for weeks! I felt as though my training had been completely wasted. Of course Emma (my partner) felt the situation was her fault for needing to be picked up – of course it wasn't, it was just one of those things that happens and can’t be helped!

In a 'eureka' type moment, I remembered that there was a small cross country event going on in Stratford-upon-Avon, knowing that my father was the official race photographer I gave him a call to find out the start time, and also whether the race organisers were accepting entries on the day. Thankfully everything played into my hands and I was able to get to the event and enter in plenty of time for the start.

My first cross country race since I was half my current age! Being a shorter distance than the event I had planned to do I felt more than prepared and was truly pumped for the event. It was on familiar grounds, I used to run on the Welcombe Hills as a child, and in fact I won a cross-country race there in 1995 for the cub-scouts! Of course I was aiming nowhere near the front of the field this time round I felt I could put in a good performance.

The race started and I hit the course hard, the memories of the climbs and descents I'd struggled with as a child came flooding back – I felt so happy! The course was two 5km laps, and it wasn't long into the first lap that the field was spread, I had one guy probably 15m ahead, and another maybe 30-40m ahead, and they seemed to stay there. I couldn’t see anyone behind me for a long long way, and focused on catching those ahead. The long descent at the end of the first lap saw me close in on the guy ahead, and I soon passed him and was chasing the next competitor. I was closing and decided I'd try to catch and break from him on the approaching steep climb which I've heard referred to locally as "Cardiac Hill". I powered up the hill passing and leaving the competitor, I felt so strong at this point albeit somewhat out of breath. That lasted about 50 metres until an incredibly painful stitch set in. I slowed the pace and breathed deeply, but it wasn't going to give; I was forced to drop into a walk, and watched the two guys I'd worked so hard to overtake come trotting past me. The stitch began to ease a little, and I was running again as soon as I could, with the closest competitor being 50m ahead of me.

I spent the rest of the race working and working, but simply not closing the gap and I'd all but given up when a cheering spectator shouted "Go on… you can catch him!"… "Pffffft!" I thought "He's MILES ahead". Well the last long descent was where I'd caught him before; although this time he was MUCH further ahead. I ran hard down the hill, closing the gap, but only to about 20metres. The race photographer (aka 'Dad') was at the bottom of the hill, gave me a cheer of encouragement whilst snapping away from behind the camera. I dropped my head and dug deep, sprinting the last 150metres… slowly the gap began to close, 20, 15, 10 metres… at last I passed him… maybe 15metres from the finish line. I collapsed exhausted on the floor then turned to congratulate the competitor I'd pipped to the post.

I'd forgotten to stop my stopwatch when I finished and had no idea what my position was so I waited intently for the official results to become available. Needless to say when they were released I was beside myself with joy. I'd finished 16th, a position I wouldn’t have dreamed of finishing at the start of the race! And to add to my fantastic finishing position, a time of 40:53… knocking a whole minute off my previous 10k personal best! Bearing in mind my previous 10k PB was set on a very flat and fast road course I was astounded by my result at this punishing 10km cross-country event. The training for the Half Marathon was not wasted at all, and despite starting the day with such a disaster, the day finished fantastically and at the time of writing this 'race report', it's been my best ever race day to date.