Radcliffe 10K - 3rd April 2011

Having shunned the offer of breakfast in bed as it was Mothering Sunday, in favour of porridge and a banana, we all headed up to Radcliffe for the 10k multi terrain race. I thought I might have to go on my own as my son Joseph was poorly on the Friday but he made a speedy recovery and my support crew was at full strength.

Having collected my number I made my way to the start line, which was about a 10 minute walk away. I competed in this race last year but as an unattached runner, so this year it was lovely to compete as part of a club. Running for Swinton is like having a big red security blanket with you.

It started raining just before the start, so my cheerleaders stayed in the car, but that didn’t last for long and soon the sun came out and so did my children.

The hill at the beginning of the race is quite steep and my legs were quite heavy when I reached the top, however unlike last year I knew we only had to go up it once so I could relax a bit. The course has variable terrains and running so close to the canal is at times a bit scary, and I don’t think there was enough mud for Sharen but you can’t have everything. The finish on the track was probably the worst part of the race as by then my legs had given up on me so running the last 300m in front of everyone wasn’t fun.

However, I knocked nearly six minutes off last years time and I won a pair of socks for being second in my age group which is the first thing I have won in a very long time (over 20 years!) so it was well worth getting out of bed for.

I enjoy running Radcliffe athletic club races as the marshals are very supportive and the races are well organised and this one was no exception.

Thanks Kate