Keep On Racing!

Race no. 81 Back to the Parkrun Town Moor, Again!

Chris makes it look easy!

But it's hard for me at the finish.

 

 

Use it, or lose, it is a true saying in terms of fitness and particularly relevant to racing. So it was that I realised it was weeks since I had a proper race - the Tynedale 10 mile/ Great North Run - and I needed just to race again.

Yes, I had my excuses for missing the first two cross country events of the season. Firstly, a chest cold for Wrekenton, then a weekend antiques fair in Kelso, but a glance at the diary told me there was a family wedding coming up in Scotland next week and very little mention of races. The answer? The usual fallback of a 5K Parkrun. Back to the Town Moor for me then, and my lad, Chris, was also up for it.

On a cold and wet Saturday morning we joined the hundreds of runners, on Newcastle's Town Moor for the weekly Parkrun. The rain got even heavier as we warmed up with a circuit of the lake, before retreating under the portico of the Exhibition Hall which is now the Wylam Brewery ( producer of my favourite real ale), for some stretching.

A cultural note, now, for the original North East Coast Exhibition was based here in 1929, attracting several million visitors. This week it was announced that the Great North Exhibition 2018 will be held in Newcastle/Gateshead with the same ambition, you heard it here first.

Having lost a little of my racing edge, I let Chris start some way ahead of me and he was soon lost to sight. My 7.09 for mile one was followed by 7.17 for mile 2 and 7.38 for mile 3. My grimace for the last 0.1 mile to the finish (above) shows the effort needed to drop this pace to 6.22 miling.

Chris with the advantage of youth and fitness was able to knock a mile a minute off my pace, recording 19.51 for the 5K compared to my 22.52. Well done, son.

C.J. finished in 48th position to my 159th in the field of 643, yes 643 on a miserable morning!

My (relatively) disappointing display having focussed my mind on the remaining 19 races of this century of races challenge, I have just looked at the Future North East Races site and booked a few races into my schedule. This now looks something like this:

Oct. 29/30 (cannot find much choice, hence ) Parkrun/ Great Run Local
Nov. 1 Monthly Mile (?)
Nov. 5 Norman Woodcock Mem. Gosforth Park
Nov. 6 Inaugral Parkrun Prudhoe
Nov. 12/13 either Cragside 10 mile Trail, or Townmoor Mem 10K
Nov 20 Brampton /Carlisle 10m.
Nov. 26/27 Harrier League Cross Country or Ponteland 10m.
Dec. 4 Hexhamshire Hobble Fell Race
Dec. 10/11 ???
Dec. 17 Saltwell 10K