Cheltenham Challenge 10k

Yesterday I ran Eastleigh parkrun and felt almost fine - the muscles in my left side were only slightly making themselves known.  So I was really looking forward to a proper race.

Then lovely Mrs S and I spent Saturday night in Cheltenham with Chris and Bel.  This morning we made our way to Cheltanham racecourse, the venue of the Cheltenham Challenge 10k.  The crowds of runners looked very, well, amateur, and the music blaring from the speakers was dire but everyone seemed to be lapping it up.  I felt very old.

From the start there were just a dozen or so runners ahead of me, and it was fun to gradually pick some of them off.  But it really was glorious to be racing again.  The course was mostly on grass fields, with any number of kissing gates in the second half.  It was a really pretty course, and great to be out there.  By km 8 I was on my own, and pushed hard to the finish, back at the race ground.

At the finish line a guy came running up to ask me if my name was Sue.  No?  Well, you're listed as first lady, he told me.  Ahhh... we were both wearing the wrong numbers.  A quick sex change later, and I was chuffed to be 5th over the line and 1st M50.  My time was 42:17 which sounds a bit rubbish, but I blame the gates and the extra 250 metres!

Mrs S and Chris came charging down to the finish line in great form a few minutes later.  A super morning!