Vitality London 10,000 2016

I usually avoid these mass participation races, but I thought it'd be nice to extend the brilliant Westminster Mile event [read the blog here] into a full bank holiday weekend's worth of running. So I entered the race online a few weeks beforehand at a cost of £26, which is more than I'd usually pay for a 10k race but these Central London races are always a bit more expensive.

A race pack was sent out to me a couple of weeks before the event and it contained my race number, Ipico timing chip, a race day programme and the required items incase I wanted to leave my belongings in the baggage area during the race.

vitality london 10,000 [photos: 7t]

The race is always held on the late May bank holiday Monday, which is the day after the Westminster Mile where I ran a time of 5.41 [blog]. We had stayed overnight in London not far from the start-finish of the race, so the morning was fairly straightforward for me with just a short warm-up jog over to St. James's Park required.

The race start time was set at 10am, I arrived at about 9.40 and headed straight into the blue start pen. For the record there were four start pens on the day with the blue being the first to be sent out onto the road. It was pretty crowded towards the front of the pen and I managed to squeeze into a point that was more towards the front than the back.

pre-race [photos: 7t]

At 10am sharp the race was started and I slowly shunted further forward until I reached the start line. According to my RunPix personal race stats page, it took 24 seconds to get there which wasn't too bad considering the amount of people running this race. However, I immediately remembered why I avoid these events. It was pretty congested all the way down the Mall and it wasn't until after the 1km point that I found that I had fallen into my intended pace.

The streets stayed more congested than I would have liked through until around 2.5km. At this point I found that the runners had spaced out enough for me to start to feel comfortable and really started to enjoy running through the streets of London. For the record, the course is basically completely flat - there are a couple of gradient changes over in the City of London but they are nothing more than that.

race underway [photos: mum]

The course worked its way from the Mall, past Trafalgar Square, along the Strand and into the City of London. It headed around the northern side of St. Paul's Cathedral and then looped back around where the 5km marker was found. I passed the halfway point in 20.37 (according to my stopwatch / 20.35 by the official halfway mats) and felt pretty good so I continued at the same effort level as I headed back towards Westminster.

The course largely followed the same roads as the outbound route for a while and it was nice to see the thousands of runners heading out towards the city as I made my way back. When the route reached Trafalgar Square, the runners headed down Whitehall and this is where knew I'd have some supporters awaiting me.

I was pretty excited about this and looking out for them proved to be a nice distraction as I tried to fight of a mild stitch that I felt forming. Then just as I reached the end of Whitehall (technically Parliament Street) I saw my nephew and mum waiting for me.

post-run [photos: neil reissland / 7t / mum]

My mum was trying to take a photo of me at this point but had a bit of a senior moment with her phone and didn't manage to take a photo - on the plus side I did get a hi-five from my nephew which set me up nicely for the last kilometre.

The last kilometre is the place where there is no longer any point in reserving any energy, so heading along Birdcage Walk was a bit of a blur. I pushed as hard as possible and although I didn't really acknowledge any of the crowds, it was really packed and the cheering really helped me to continue to push.

With 400 metres left to go I checked my stopwatch and saw that I was on for a sub-41 time, which was great news and provided another additional boost for me. So for the second time in as many days, I turned onto Spur Road and crossed the finish line in the view of Buckingham Palace. I had indeed come in under 41 minutes and done so with a negative split race.

2016 medal (back and front) [photos: 7t]

I went through the process of having my timing chip removed before moving onto the goody bag collection points. The bag contained a mixture of nuts, crispy things, drinks, and sun cream. But most importantly it contained the race medal and the Adidas race t-shirt. I like a nice close fit so I opted for the extra-small t-shirt and it fits really well.

After bumping into a few familiar faces, I located my mum and nephew and we made our way back over to the flat we were staying in. If I had been a little better organised I could have taken advantage of a free massage in one of the tents, but the queue was long and I was starting to shiver as I hadn't taken warmer clothes over to the park with me.

As an event, I thought it was really well organised. There is plenty of space in Green Park and the organisers used it well. The only real downside is the same old thing that you get in these big events, and that is the congestion during the first kilometre or two. To be fair, there were plenty of pre-race announcements telling runners to avoid over-seeding themselves when lining up, but apparently nobody really took any notice.

kilometre splits (under pace) and GPS trace of the course [photo: 7t]

I reviewed my GPS data on Strava after the race and I reckon I managed my pace really well. The congestion at the start cost me around 20 seconds, but I knew this would happen and was actually pleased that I hadn't lost even more time. So instead of becoming stressed about it, I stayed patient and was able to put in a cracking last few kilometres (the 10th was my fastest of the entire race), which I'm very pleased with.

Official Time (chip): 40.48

5km splits: 20.37 / 20.11 by my stopwatch (or 20.35 / 20.13 according to the official chip times)

Position: 744 / 12234 (top 6.08%)

Official Results: London 10,000 (search page)

Official Results: London 10,000 (search fields completed)

Official Results: London 10,000 on Run Britain
Really Cool bespoke stats page: RunPix

Highbury Fields junior parkrun

We were staying in Central London for the Westminster Mile 2016 [blog] and as our wave wasn't due to start until 11.55am, that left plenty of time to squeeze in a junior parkrun. So the natural choice was to head over to Highbury Fields junior parkrun.

This junior parkrun takes place on part of the course that is used for the full 5k Highbury Fields parkrun [blog]. We travelled there on the tube to Highbury and Islington station (also served by mainline trains) because, well, it's central London and travelling by car would have been silly. Firstly there are parking restrictions in place all around the local area and secondly it's so much easier to use public transport while in the centre of London.

[photos: dani]

We left just enough time before the junior parkrun to visit the playground which we have been to before and is pretty cool. Soon enough parkrun o'clock came around and for this venue that time is 9.30am (remember, junior parkrun start times do vary between venues - check first!).

While the briefing took place I knocked out a teeny freedom run on the course (partly as a warm up for the Westminster Mile later that morning) which is 100% tarmac and undulates ever-so-slightly. Three anti-clockwise laps are required to complete the full 2 kilometres.

[photos: dani]

As I arrived back at the start/finish area, the official junior parkrun warm up was just about to start and largely used the template, but the day's warm-up leader threw in a few extra moves for fun (runner bean - broad bean!) and I liked this. All parkruns should feel familiar and follow the same processes, but it is very refreshing to see someone break away from the mould every now and then.

The runners were despatched straight after the warm-up and as Matilda wanted me to run with her, we headed off together for her three laps. The first two seemed to be fairly tough for her, but the third saw her spring into life and once she got a sniff of the finish line, I could barely keep up.

[photos: dani]

With her barcode scanned, we headed back to the playground to continue with the playing. She made me very dizzy on a roundabout thingy that requires the occupants to pedal. Then she insisted that I have a go on the gigantic slide - it was fun, but there were lots of kids playing so I declined the offer of a second go!

Then it was time to head over to Green Park for the Westminster Mile [blog], which is a great event. Shortly after arriving at Green Park, I received Matilda's result text message [full results here] and while she hadn't threatened her personal best 2k time, she did have a nice time at Highbury Fields and that's what it's all about. It's one that we'd certainly swing by again if the opportunity presented itself.

Westminster Mile 2016

The Westminster Mile has become one of those races that I just keep returning to year after year, so far there have been four events and I have attended three (2013 and 2015 being the other two - I missed 2014 as I was travelling to Germany for a half-marathon). This event has grown off the back of the London 10,000 which took place the day after and turns the weekend into a celebration of running.

Even though the race itself is good enough, it's all the other small things that makes this a great event. We stayed over in London the night before the event and even had time to visit Highbury Fields junior parkrun (blog to follow) before heading over to Green Park to the main hub of the Westminster Mile event.

This year was a little different because instead of just myself racing, I had registered my wife and daughter as well. We had entered as part of the Sweatshop Running Community and made our way to the SRC tent where we did our last bits of preparation. Me and Matilda were both wearing our New Balance Zante v2 running shoes (blogs: mine / matilda's).

getting ready [photos: 7t / dani]

Sweatshop had three waves of runners, A, B, and C. I had registered first and my predicted finish time had me in wave A, while my wife and daughter were in wave C. I was a little apprehensive about the start time which was advertised as 11.55am because in 2015 the Sweatshop waves had been set off early which lead to some confusion and a little panic.

This year. the organisers stuck to the advertised time slots which was a relief. So at 11.55am, wave A was despatched and all was fine. After 2015 where I went out too hard and suffered. I decided to approach the race with a slightly different strategy this year - I went out at a strong pace but tried to keep things under control.

My goal was to finish in under 6 minutes and while on paper this looked do-able, my own confidence was a little low and I was unsure if I'd be able to do it. The race had markers every 400 metres plus an extra one with 200 metres left, so I used these to judge how I was doing. I knew I had to reach 400 metres in around 1.30, and I passed this at 1.24 which made me a little nervous that I had gone out a little too fast.

ready to go... [photos: dani / mum]

So I tried to stay relaxed through the second 400 metres in an attempt to reach the second half of the race in fairly decent shape. As I ran along Birdcage Walk I was overtaking other runners which was the complete opposite of how last year went, and mentally this really helped to get to the 1200 metre mark.

The last 400 metres was a case of giving it everything that was left. It was at this point that I spotted one of my running buddies from Dartford. He was a good 10-15 metres ahead and I wondered if I might be able to reach him if I had left enough in the tank.

As we turned the final corner and the finish line came into sight, I was about 5 metres behind. I really pushed hard and edged in front a couple of metres before the finish line. So a big thank you must go to Alec for giving me a target to aim for during that last 400 metres.

After finishing I hung around at the finish area to await the arrival of my wife and daughter whose wave were just about to be despatched. About 12 minutes later they came into sight and they crossed the line together. The same post-race system was in place as was last year. First there were the timing chip removal stations and these were followed by the goody bag station. The race medal was inside the goody bag.

We headed straight back over to the Sweatshop Running Community tent where we picked up our free lunch and found a nice spot to eat it. One of the great things about this event is that I find that I bump into so many people I know from various running groups, races and parkruns. It's such a great event for the running community and I have every intention of returning in 2017.

post-run [photos: 7t / dani]

The results were online later that day and my official chip time was 5.41. My wife and daughter completed their mile in 12.11. I've had a chance to think about things and I reckon that the track sessions I've been doing recently played a massive part in helping me to get the pacing for this just right.

Official chip time (me): 5.41 (Westminster Mile (search fields applied)
Dani / Matilda: 12.11 (Westminster Mile (search fields applied)
Official results: Westminster Mile 2016 (main search page)
Official results: Westminster Mile 2016 (run britain)

The following day I took part in the Vitality London 10,000 2016.

Woking parkrun

Woking is a large town in Surrey with a population of around 63,000 people. Its first recorded in written form in the Domesday book as 'Wochinges' (or wochingas), but this would have referred to Old Woking rather than the modern town you see today.

The town has links to popular culture in the form of H.G Wells' novel War of the Worlds with one of Woking's suburbs 'Horsell Common' being the area where the invading martians first land. The band 'The Jam' are from the area and their number 1 song 'A Town Called Malice' is about Woking.

briefing and around the park [photos: 7t]

In 1902 the Brettell family, who were known as philanthropists, gave an area of land to the people of Woking with a conveyance order which stated that it 'shall not be used for any other purpose than a public park, public walks, gardens, recreation grounds, pleasure grounds and baths'.

Shortly after this, Woking Park opened to the public. It has been renovated, modified and extended since that time. In 2008 the park was under threat when proposals to relocate Woking College to the land were made - fortunately local residents fought this citing that to do this would be in breach of the original covenant. On 16 August 2014 the park became home to Woking parkrun.

around the park [photos: 7t / dani]

We visited this venue on Saturday 28 May 2016 (event 91) on a lovely morning. It also happened to be the same day that Guildford parkrun and Rushmoor parkrun (both local) were both cancelled, so it worked out to be quite a busy day for the volunteers who coped admirably with the increased number of runners - in fact, a new course attendance record of 340 was set.

We parked in the main Woking Park car park which is also used by people visiting the Pool in the Park swimming pool and leisure centre. According to the council's website and signs in the car park, it is free for up to three hours (the Woking parkrun website says four hours) has plenty of space and did the job nicely. Travel by train is totally do-able with Woking Train Station being just a short walk away. There are some bicycle racks for cyclists next to the car park.

the trail section [photos: 7t]

While I went and took some photos around the course, my wife and daughter hung out in the playground which was renovated in 2014 and the verdict from my daughter is that it is brilliant (I agree, it is superb!). Other facilities in the park include crazy golf, tennis courts, plus football and cricket pitches. In only a small park so it's quite amazing how they've managed to squeeze everything in while still retaining a nice peaceful space for the locals to chill out.

While I was wandering around I found the toilets, which are right next to the parkrun start line and the tennis courts. I also found a lovely pond and loads of beautiful trees and plants - it all felt rather lush. There was a scented garden which I entered and had a good sniff of - it smelt flowery. To top it all off I found some ducklings hanging out on the pond. Before I knew it, it was almost 9am and time for the briefing at the bandstand.

hi-five [photos: dani / 7t]

The parkrun takes place over a three-and-a-bit lap route around the park which is mostly tarmac but also features a section along a dirt trail through the woods. It was dry when I visited, but it looks like it can get pretty muddy on that section during the winter, so some kind of multi-terrain shoe would the best choice of footwear for this course. For the record, buggy runners will be fine on the course, but things do get a little congested.

The route is basically flat, but there is a slight incline towards the end of each lap to negotiate. Without doubt, my favourite thing about the route were the twists and turns of which there are many and they make the course a lot of fun to run around. There were also a few small bridges to cross where the route passes over the Hoe Stream.

woking parkrun [photos: dani / 7t]

It's worth noting that 340 runners on a three-and-a-bit lap course with a fair amount of narrow-ish paths meant that the faster runners soon caught up with the tail runner and started filtering through, lapping the back of the field. It wasn't easy and involved quite a lot of weaving, so if you are running sub-30 you will probably lap people and if you are running 27 minutes plus you will be lapped yourself. 27-30 minute runners are in that zone where they'll be doing both.

At the end of the run the barcode scanning was taken care of right next to the finish line and the results were online shortly after. I'm left with memories of a great park with an amazing children's playground. The parkrun was great fun and the course is flat and fast. The park was so great that we actually forgot to go to the post-run social which is in the Costa Coffee inside the leisure centre, but I'm sure that was also great!

Dartford junior parkrun 1

It was inevitable that after the success of Dartford parkrun a junior event would eventually follow. Conversations had been ongoing ever since the full 5km event started, but it just needed that one person to come forward to be the event director before it could really gather some momentum. I seriously considered taking it on myself, but decided against it.

Fast-forward to 22 May 2016 and the Event Director, Angela O'Sullivan, along with her fantastic core team were ready to go live with their inaugural event, which takes place in Central Park, Dartford.

[photos: bruce li / 7t]

As with all junior parkruns, this is a 2km event which takes place every Sunday morning. Remember that times do vary between junior events, but this one has a 9am start time. I imagine that most people attending this event will be local, but for anyone travelling here, Dartford train station is about 5-10 minutes away from the park.

All the local buses that stop in the town centre will get you with a few minutes walk of the start line. If travelling by car, there are some public car parks in the town centre and as I understand it, parking is free on Sundays. Bike racks are situated outside the cafe.

[photos: bruce li / richey]

The run itself starts outside the 'Cafe in the Park' which is located within the children's playground. Just head towards the white, wooden building in the centre of the park and you'll be in the right place. The course is made up of 2 laps on a mixture of tarmac paths and grass (the grass section is quite short). The course is flat apart from one teeny, weeny bump at the end of each lap. 

So on the day of the inaugural event, we wandered over to the park and arrived in good time for the start. It was always my intention to volunteer at the event, but my daughter wanted me to run with her, so I did that and my wife volunteered as a marshal.

[photos: dani]

The standard junior parkrun warm-up took place and this was followed by an opening speech from the leader of the council who has been very supportive to both parkruns in Dartford. With the runners in place at the start line, the signal was given and the first Dartford junior parkrun was underway.

It was a lovely, sunny morning and two laps later Matilda crossed the line to complete her 26th junior parkrun and her 11th different junior parkrun venue (it was also the 6th inaugural junior parkrun that she had been present at - however only 5 of those are logged as completed runs as she had a DNF at Medway juniors).

[photos: bruce li]

It wasn't one of her greatest runs as she didn't really seem to be into it this week, but she stuck with it and had a smile on her face when she crossed the line where she was handed her finish token by her favourite 'silly guy' Adam. We hung around for a bit to chat but we soon had to head off for our 15 minute walk up the hill to the rugby club where Matilda was due to continue her morning's activities.

The core team have a great deal of experience between them so it was no surprise that the results were processed at lightning speed - in fact we received Matilda's results text message before we had even arrived at the rugby club. The roving parkrun photographer, Bruce Li, was at the event, and as well as taking some great photos he also knocked up an incredible video from the morning. You can find it here: Dartford junior parkrun #1 (video)

A perfect start to what is another great addition to Dartford's running community.

Run>Dartford: Central Park 4 Mile 2016

Race two of the 2016 Run>Dartford series was held in Central Park, Dartford on Friday 20 May. The weather was dry but a little windy and I arrived ready for action in plenty of time for the 7.15pm start. I was met there by my wife and daughter who had agreed to provide me with some support for the evening.

If you read my blog post from the first event of the series you will know that the results and overall prizes for the series are being organised by age grade rather than absolute time or finishing position. This makes the series quite unique and is shaping up to be quite a lot of fun. Runners have also been asked to wear neutral running tops rather than club colours to help keep the events nice and inclusive - it seems to be working.

me and my bestest running buddy after our warm-up [photo:dani]

Each runner's age grading score is used as a base for a score (my 65.83% age grading at the first race translated into 65.83 points in the table). The top five runners at the end of the series will receive awards, while every runner that completes at least four of the races will receive a series medal in the shape of a Dartford Warbler.

The Central Park 4 mile race was run on many of the same paths that are used for Dartford parkrun, except for this race we were running along them in the opposite direction. We started half-way along Mick Jagger's leg before joining the main loop which would be run 3-and-a-bit times.

about 100 metres into the race [photo:dani]

The majority of the surface underfoot was tarmac, but there were some sections on the grass/dirt paths around the park. As anyone who has run Dartford parkrun will know, there is a slight incline on the 'other side' of the park and this proved to be fairly tough. Also tough was negotiating the trail section which for this race was run downhill.

I started the race at a fairly strong pace and hit the 1km mark in 3.58 (possibly a little too quick). The next few kilometres were run at around the same pace with the fourth dipping to a 4.11. According to Strava, I hit 5k in 20.14 (if that is accurate it's a new 'year best'). Then in the final mile I developed a stitch in my left hand side and it forced me to slow down significantly.

end of first lap [photo: dani]

The sixth kilometre ended up taking me 4.32 to complete, but I had recovered just about enough to pick the pace up again for the last 500 metres. I could also sense that the runner behind was gaining on me and I didn't fancy being pipped to the line (I wasn't).

The results were published soon after the event and I finished in 19th position based on age grade. My age grading was 64.6% which translated into a score of 64.60 which was added to the overall table. I was in 14th position in the consolidated points table after the first event, but I have now moved up into 7th position and am currently sitting on 130.43 points.

finish line [photo:dani]

Time: 27.24
Position (based on age grade): 19th
Full results: Central Park 4 Mile
Age grading: 64.60%
Current points in table: 130.43 (currently in 7th position)

Lesnes Abbey Abbey Abbey Woods junior parkrun 55

After an absence of 10 months, we returned to Lesnes Abbey Woods junior parkrun for a visit. In the time we had spent away, the parkrun had been temporarily relocated to an alternative venue while new paths at Lesnes Abbey were laid. With that work now complete, the parkrun has returned home.

new lesnes abbey woods entrance [photo: 7t]

Our plan was to try out a new Sunday morning plan, which we hope to make a regular occurrence. A visit to a local 9am junior parkrun followed by rugby training. Anyway, Matilda introduced a friend to junior parkrun this week.

So it was nice to run around with the two of them. We stayed together for the whole of the first two laps, but as we started lap three Matilda's friend decided that he would prefer to walk and Matilda continued her run to complete the course in 17.38 [results]. I stayed with her friend and we finished about a minute-and-a-half later.

The new paths are pretty good to run on. They are a little gravelly and they replace some quite uneven grass sections that were originally part of the course. There is one section to look out for where a bench has been placed on the path right on the natural running line - it looks like an accident waiting to happen. I'd be tempted to stick a marshal there to be on the safe side.

With the run finished, we jumped back in the car and headed over to Dartford Valley Rugby Football Club for the second of the morning's activities. The rugby training is good fun and much more interactive and engaging than parkrun, so I think Matilda actually prefers this.

However it's great that we can squeeze both in, and from next week the brand Dartford junior parkrun starts which will make it even easier to do the parkrun-rugby double!

Hilly Fields junior parkrun 53

This was our second visit to Hilly Fields junior parkrun, the first visit didn't end too well as Matilda tripped over on her first lap and hurt her knees. She didn't carry on with the run and we retreated to the cafe until she started to feel a little better. You can read all about that visit in my original Hilly Fields junior parkrun blog post.

pre-run [fertas: dani]

Our main reason for being in this neck of the woods was that New Cross Fire Station were having an open day and we had decided to go. The fire station is only five minutes away from Hilly Fields (by car). It was also Hilly Fields junior parkrun's first birthday, so it just all tied in very nicely.

We arrived at Hilly Fields and wandered over to the parkrun meeting point. As we were walking across, Matilda said to me 'Papa, is this the place were I fell over and hurt my knees?' 'Yes' I replied. I could tell she was now a little apprehensive about running here, but I assured her that I'd stay with her during her run and hold her hand if required.

all three smiling in one ferta - that's rare [ferta: lisa power]

As we reached the start/finish area, I was immediately hit by the community feel here - somehow it feels so different to anywhere else. The park has a bohemian vibe to it and this seems to extend into the junior parkrun.

The run briefing and warm-up took place in the usual way and we then lined up at the back for the run. We headed off at a nice slow pace and started to play some games. Firstly it was The Hobbit - I was Thorin Oakenshield and Matilda was Smaug the Dragon.

another collage [fertas: lisa power / dani]

We played this until we got about halfway around the first lap, at this point we switched to Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom, playing the scene where they are running away from the large boulder. Matilda managed to get away from the boulder thanks to her new, super speedy running shoes.

After this, we reached the 'hilly' part of Hilly Fields which is a section of 200 metres or so uphill back to the start/finish area. She put in a good effort up this hill, but at the top she started complaining of a pain in her right calf. I gave it a quick massage but it didn't help so we mostly walked the second lap. However, lap two did include a section of hopping which we dubbed 'parkhop'.

parkrun 24 for lime [ferta: lisa power]

She manage to put in a good effort for the last 100 metres and as she reached the finish line, she stopped. She won't tell me exactly why, but the word on the street is that she was checking that the timer (Adele) was doing her job properly.

With her barcode scanned and Hilly Fields junior parkrun birthday cake in hand, we headed off to the playground while Matilda's mum picked up some breakfast and drinks in the cafe. We spent a good deal of time in 'Pistachios in the park' cafe drinking their great coffee (it really is worth visiting for the coffee alone) and reading some of the cafe's children's books.

post-run [fertas: dani]

Another visit to the playground and then it was time to head over to New Cross Fire Station (apparently, it's the oldest operational Fire Station in Europe) for the open day, which was fun. 

Riddlesdown parkrun 256

With my home parkrun venue, Dartford, cancelled to make way for the Dartford Steam Fair, I arranged to take a few friends over to my former parkrun home, Riddlesdown [full venue description blog]. The slightly embarrassing thing for me was that I hadn't visited in almost two years.

It was a scorcher of a day and we arrived in good time. In total there were ten of us from Dartford parkrun running here and we managed to get a quick snap of us all just before the run started (with the weather being so hot, I thought this would make a better photo than one after the run).

dartford ten

My wife wanted to run, but my daughter didn't, so we took the running buggy with us. This was to be my 72nd run at Riddlesdown and as I had run two races (Dartford Heath 5k and Silverstone 10k) plus a hard Bedgebury Pinetum parkrun in the last week, decided to take it fairly easy.

So I started right at the back and plodded through the first kilometre in 6.16. As the field of runners thinned out I slowly filtered through, increasing the pace for each kilometre until completing the final kilometre in 5.13. Overall a nice easy run, but made a little tougher by having to push the buggy over the rough, bumpy terrain.

tokens sorted into lovely little piles of ten [photo:7t]

The run was secondary to the real reasons for visiting and once it was complete I caught up with a few Riddlesdown regulars that I hadn't seen for ages. We also went to the pub for the post-run social where we did a spot of token sorting volunteering and stayed until 1pm (early by our own standards!).

With parkrun over with for another week, we headed back to Dartford where I headed over to the Dartford Steam Fair with my daughter to check out all the fab steam machines, vintage cars, buses etc etc..

Silverstone Grand Prix 10k 2016

The Silverstone Grand Prix 10k race is a midweek race hosted by Silson Joggers and takes place on the Silverstone motor racing circuit. The race has been held here since 1984 and 2016 marked the 33rd running of the race. It comprises the East Midlands Grand Prix Series, the Milton Keynes Schools Challenge and the Motor Sports Challenge. The race is also open to handcycle and wheelchair athletes.

I entered as an affiliated runner online for a very reasonable £10.50 (and that also included the admin fee that Runner's World apply). Even with this race being a midweek affair, it still manages to attract a very large field and with over 1,000 entrants is actually the largest 10k road race in the Midlands. Being held at a race track that is used to coping with 300,000 people on F1 race day, the 1,172 runners plus their supporters were barely a blip on the venue's radar.

silverstone [photo:dani]

The Silverstone Motor Racing Circuit was built on the site of the former World War II bomber station, RAF Silverstone. This was home to Wellington Bombers during the war, but soon after the war had ended it started to be used for motor racing. The track itself has been modified and improved many times over the years and Silverstone is, of course, best known as the home of the British Formula 1 Grand Prix.

After driving over from Dartford earlier in the day and spending the afternoon hanging out in Towcester, we reached the venue just a few minutes before 5.30pm which was the earliest possible time that we would be allowed onsite. The Silverstone staff put us in a holding area with a few other early birds until they were ready for us to enter the car park. The car park itself is located within the perimeter of the track so we had to cross the track via a couple of bridges before we reached it.

pre-race [photos: 7t / dani]

The Race HQ was located inside one of the pit garages and after collecting my number (with in-built timing chip) had plenty of time to mill around taking photos before starting my warm up. The toilets were about 100 metres away from the pits and were more than sufficient for the numbers of people on-site for the event. The Silverstone gift shop and the Paddock Cafe were both open so we milled around those too.

The wheelchair race got under way at 7.25pm and the main race followed at 7.30pm. The participants generally started to get in position about 20 minutes beforehand and there was a great atmosphere as we waited in the warm spring evening's sun for things to kick off. Eventually my wife and daughter had to leave the start area and they found a nice spot to watch from the pit lane. After they left, I bumped into a former Dartford Harriers runner who was the race adjudicator for the evening.

The 10 kilometres are made up by running two, clockwise laps of the pre-2010 main circuit which is called 'The Bridge Circuit'. The Bridge Circuit has now been decommissioned for motor racing, mostly because the bridge itself is in very close proximity to the track and has been deemed unsafe, especially for motorcycle racers. For the record, in 2010 the track facilities were upgraded and a new, modified track layout was introduced. This new track layout is not used for the 10k race.

As you may have gathered, this race takes place on a 100% tarmac course and although there are a couple of small changes in elevation, it's all very gentle and can only be classified as being flat. Perfect conditions for an outing in my New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v2 running shoes which are becoming a favourite of mine. At 7.30 sharp, the air horn was sounded and we all headed off down National Pits Straight.

halfway [photos: dani]

Before the race I had thought about what kind of time I would be able to run on a flat 10k course and based on my recent 5k time of 20.35 at the Dartford Heath 5k, I predicted a finish time of around 43 minutes with a perfect race possibly allowing me to dip just under that and into the 42's - a few various online calculators suggested the same. I had also managed to forget to bring my stopwatch so although I had my phone's GPS fired up to track my route, I wasn't able to check any splits while out on the course.

So I reached the first corner, Copse, then proceeded through Maggots which for the evening was dubbed 'the bend of noise' and was manned by a a group of about 20 children with various noise making devices and instruments. Then followed Becketts and Chapel. Trying to hit the apex at each corner was difficult due to the sheer numbers of runners, but I stayed patient and didn't do anything silly. Some of the corners were taken a little wider than I would have liked but there was no other choice.

approaching the finish / supporters [photos:dani]

Along Hanger Straight and through Stowe, along Vale and into Club. It's at this point that the course reaches the new starting grid and the striking new building called 'Silverstone Wing' - this houses the brand new pit lane and race control areas which have been necessary to ensure Silverstone remains the home of British Motorsport.

After this, the course reaches Abbey, Farm and Bridge before entering the twistiest section through Priory, Brooklands and Luffield. This is followed by the long sweeping right hander at Woodcote which leads back onto the National Pits Straight. I have no idea exactly how long it took to run that first lap because I didn't look at the trackside clock to check, but I did spot my wife and daughter and gave them a quick wave. Looking at my Strava data it looks like I hit the 5k point in around 20.40.

finish [photos: dani]

So I continued onto lap 2 where there was a water stop just after the 5k point but I just focussed on the road ahead and got on with the job. As I reached 'the bend of noise' for a second time the track was less congested so I held up my hand a got about 20 hi-fives in a row from the children, which made me smile and I felt a little more relaxed for a bit.

For the rest of the second lap, I found myself neck-and-neck with a fellow runner and I found it really useful to have someone to run alongside. However, as I reached the beginning of the 9th kilometre I started to fade (this section has a little teeny-weeny rise in elevation so I think that lost me a bit of pace - it was four seconds slower than my previous 3 kilometres). Once through that and into the last kilometre I managed to pick the pace up and catch up with and overtake my 2nd lap companion. The cheers from the crowds as I headed into the pit lane towards the finish line really gave me a boost to put in a strong finish.

medal [photos 7t / dani]

Overall, that second lap was a tad slower than the first and I've worked out that it took me 20.51 to complete it. That gave me an overall chip time of 41.31 which was way quicker than I would have thought possible in what I thought was my current shape, so I'm very happy with that. Putting this time into a race time predictor suggests that I could be just about fit enough to run a sub-20 5k again, so I'm looking forward to having a crack at that pretty soon.

Back to Silverstone, and with the race complete I was very grateful to be handed a bottle of water followed by my race medal. The water was my main priority as I could feel my legs starting to cramp up a little. After downing it I was reunited with my wife and daughter and we headed off to the car to have our post-race evening picnic while watching a great sunset. We'd all had a thoroughly good time and thought the race was very well organised - definitely worth the 200 mile round trip and who knows, we might even make a return trip again in the future.

sunset etc [photos: dani]

A few race stats...

Time (chip): 41.31
Time (gun): 41.35
5k splits: 20:40 / 20.51 (estimated)
Position (gun): 172 / 1,172
Official results: Silverstone 10k 2016 (mobile)
GPS data: Silverstone 10k 2016

Bedgebury Pinetum parkrun

I first heard of Bedgebury Forest and Bedgebury Pinetum back in 2011 when I ran the Bedgebury Forest Trailblazer 10k. That was pretty much the last time I made a plan on a Saturday morning that didn't involve parkrun. I have to be honest and say I wasn't entirely sure what a pinetum was, so I looked it up and found out that it is 'a plantation of pine trees or other conifers planted for scientific or ornamental purposes'.

adventure in a world of trees [photo:7t]

Bedgebury Pinetum sits within the 'High Weald Area of Natural Beauty' in Kent and is a pretty special place. It was established in 1925 and covers 325 acres. With over 10,000 trees it is recognised as the most complete collection of conifers anywhere in the world. The land used for the pinetum was once part of the Bedgebury Estate, which after changing hands a few times over the years, finally wound up in the safe hands of the Forestry Commission when they took over the management of the pinetum in 1969.

pinetum and lake [photo:7t]

The work that takes place here is of great importance to the conservation of conifers and it is part of the International Conifer Conservation Programme. The collection is continually expanding and the site is used for 'ex situ conservation' which is the process of protecting an endangered species outside of its natural habitat. This is typically used when the specimen's natural habitat is under threat. The pinetum is also home to Kent's tallest tree which is a 51 metre tall Grand Fir called 'Old Man of Kent'.

bluebells at the meeting point [photo:dani]

The Pinetum and Forest also offers visitors some activities to do - There is a children's play area, a Go Ape treetop adventure centre, and the Quench Cycles bicycle hire centre. The bike trails extend outside the pinetum and into the forest itself which covers an additional 2,600 acres. At time of writing there is a Stick Man Trail and a Gruffalo Orienteering course. There are also Gruffalo and Gruffalo's child sculptures hiding somewhere in the Pinetum. And then of course there is the reason I am writing this blog...

start line [photo:7t]

On 19 March 2016, Bedgebury Pinetum parkrun had its inaugural event. The initial few weeks saw attendance figures in excess of 100, but that had eased off a little now that things have settled down. At time of writing (April 2016) the venue is attracting around 100 runners per week. I visited on 30 April 2016 at event 7 where 137 runners took part, which was quite a bit higher than recent weeks. Then again, we did visit on a really beautiful morning and this was also the weekend after the London Marathon so I suspect those things helped to motivate the extra people to come along.

found in the playground, which the runners pass through [photo:7t]

Unless you live close enough to cycle or walk, the only realistic way to reach this venue is by car, and car parking is available on-site from 8am. However it might work out pretty expensive - if you drive, park, run and leave before 10.30am you can pay £3. But if you want to stay on past that time then you are going to have to cough up the full £12 weekend parking fee, which is what we did as we really wanted to spend the day here. All of the money raised through car parking fees goes straight back into making Bedgebury Pinetum the great place it is.

it's all uphill from here, well the next kilometre [photo:7t]

For anyone planning to run here on a regular basis the Friends of Bedgebury offer an annual membership of £66 that includes unlimited car parking. It's also worth noting that Bedgebury Pinetum have the option to land your helicopter or hot air balloon on-site, but please note that if you are planning to arrive for parkrun via one of these methods, you will have to pre-arrange this. That is of course unless you are the Kent Air Ambulance which landed while we were there to tend to an injured mountain biker (broken arm from what I gather).

pinetum [photo:7t]

So if you did want to try to reach the venue without a car, helicopter or hot air balloon, Etchingham is the nearest national rail station - however it is apparently a 30 minute cycle ride from the station. I'm not even going to work out how long it'd take to walk that. Another option would be to travel to Tunbridge Wells by train and then take the 254 bus which will get you as far as the village of Filmwell and the walk from there looks a little more reasonable even if there are no pavements.

the bridge at 3.3km that takes you across marshals lake [photo:dani]

Once on-site, you'll find plenty of bicycle racks dotted around the place - this is mostly down to the fact that one of the big attractions are the aforementioned mountain bike trails. There is a cafe which has toilets and showers. For some reason I had trouble finding the meeting point for the parkrun, I knew it was fairly close to the car park, but I didn't spot any sign of parkrun's existence. I asked a fellow runner who pointed me up a path heading towards the Go Ape centre - when I reached the Go Ape hut I followed the path round to the left. From this point I could see lots of hi-vis vests and the finish funnel.

pinetum [photo:7t]

The pre-run main briefing took place right at the start line, which is a bit of a squeeze as the runners are penned into a fenced area with them only able to pass through an open gate. Once through the path is wide enough to enable the runners to jostle themselves into the correct positions. Underfoot you will find hard paths which are mostly either gravelly or stony. So although trail shoes may come in handy in the winter they certainly are not required during dry conditions. Buggy runners will be fine, but there are some sections that could be a little bumpy for the occupant.

meandering pinetum paths [photo:7t]

The course is essentially one single, anti-clockwise 5km loop. It starts with a kilometre of uphill running where my GPS data says that I climbed 42 metres. Then it undulates a little before rewarding you with two kilometres of downhill running where I apparently dropped 59 metres in elevation. Up to this point the running had taken place within forest areas which are nice but the thick covering of trees does mean that there are no views to appreciate. However, with the paths being a little bumpy around here, I did find that I was looking down quite a lot of the time anyway.

example of some of the terrain underfoot [photo:7t]

At the three kilometre point, the run enters the main part of the pinetum and this is where things become more pleasing to the eye. The paths from here on are in better condition with very little loose gravel or bumps to be found. There is a quirky looking bridge that crosses 'Marshals Lake' which I thought was quite on topic for a parkrun and the paths start to meander a little more. Now if you've done your maths you will already know that the course is now at a lower point than it started, so from around the 3.6km point the paths take you gradually back up hill. There's a short, sharp zig zag to negotiate which is shortly followed by the sight of the lake, cafe and car park.

coming around the lake for the final uphill push [photo:dani]

After a loop of the lake there is a final tough section, part of which is through an avenue of cherry trees which takes the runners back up to the level of the start-finish area. Here they loop around the Go Ape hut and then run the opposite way back along the opening 100 metre stretch to find the finish. I have to admit that I was pretty glad for the 5k to be over - maybe it's because I had run a 5km race just 14 hours before parkrun and I was still feeling the after effects of that.

collecting a hi-five in the avenue of cherry trees [photo:dani]

Barcode scanning took place right next to the finish line. Once that was taken care of, we nipped over to the playground where we could watch the rest of the runners as they made their way towards the finish. The playground was pretty nice - all of the apparatus are made from wood, it has a bit of an adventure-y nautical theme and features lots of sand. There was also a table tennis table with a box containing balls and bats so we popped it open and had a few games.

as much as i loved the course, this sight was very welcome [photo:dani]

Going back to the parkrun - the course was signed and marshalled at a few key points but I couldn't help feeling that it could have done with one or two more marshals out there. One point where this was especially noticeable was the final turn where the runners turn onto the finish straight - there was no signage or marshal here, so if I had followed the standard parkrun and general racing logic (ie carry on running unless a sign or a marshal says otherwise) I would have ended up running a second lap.

barcode scanning [photo:dani]

With parkrun and playing all done with, we headed down to the Bedgebury Cafe for breakfast. It's pretty decent and we all enjoyed our respective veggie options. We were even joined by one of the ducks which decided to wander in from its home on the lake just outside. It was now time to carry on with our day out and we started off by following the Stick Man Trail which included a few fun activities to do along the way.

all about the cafe [photo:7t]

A few hours later we returned to the cafe for some more refreshments and we then headed off home. We were thoroughly exhausted, but had had a brilliant day out at Bedgebury. It's definitely a great place to visit, so if heading down for the parkrun I'd recommend staying for the day. Next time we visit, we are planning on checking out the mountain bike trails.