10 KM RACE! Jan 21st - 89 days to marathon

Wet. Windy. Muddy. Hilly. 598 fellow racers.

Raced the Epsom Oddballs 10k with Neal and Jon Bison. Neal ran like a rabbit on crack, disappearing up the field, picking off runners like a sniper in Nikes. Bison and I found our pace, added an extra 10% effort and toughed it out.

There's one thing a race does - it demands that you run, not plod round in your comfort zone.

I know the reason I like running on my own whilst training, because I can up or down my pace as comfort demands. However, in a race you don't want to be beaten by veteran runners, overweight housewives, or kids so the rules change. Firstly, you do anything to run a proud race. That usually involves assessing your limits on the start line and then, along with the rule book, tossing both out of the window as the starter pulls the trigger on his start pistol.

The Epsom 10K is a classic guts out, up and down combination of muddy single track wood trail, wind swept horse racing track, mixed with heart wrenching climbs and uneven, tricky under foot descents. In essence it's the quintessential cross country. The one that has the finish line sadistically placed half way up a finishing hill climb, the type that makes you barf as you cross the tape if you run it hard enough.

I ran a proud race, starting fast but not too quick and picking off the runners I wanted to beat, gulping air like a horse to hold my own throughout, finishing with just enough steam in the tank to close out with a sprint. All to reach that euphoric feeling of completion 50mins after starting, a comparitively slow 10K time (personal best around 43mins on flat raod) but respectable for a cross country. Placed 195th out of 598.

I wasn't sick on the finish line, but did feel ready to. I ran hard enough to avoid busting/straining/tearing/ripping anything, but with enough grit to really feel that this will add to my training when it comes to strength building. Clean, healthy fun with a little pinch of Sunday morning masochism.

Neal 41mins 59 secs - placed 35th. Myself 50mins 03 secs - placed 195. Jon Bison 52mins 20 secs - placed 243rd

Next race Wimbledon 10K Sunday March 11th