Swanage 10k, 2019

This race was always going to be a bit quirky.  It's organised by - naturally - the Swanage Sea Rowing Club, and it was beyond me to find any information about the race, except that it was in Swanage and is on roads. 

We turned up in good time and retrieved our numbers from a noisy football club hall.  It was quite mild (about ten degrees) but with a blustery wind that put a chilly edge on the day.  The lovely Mrs S, racing again after an injured absence, fretted about what to wear.  Reluctantly we got out of the warm car, loosened up, got into position and we were off.

At the start... love the spiky hair

Somewhere online I'd found a set of old results which showed only 3 runners under 40 minutes, but it was clear from the off that this was a reasonably competitive field.  After a flat and fast first km we headed uphill, and I could see some really fast guys a good way ahead.  It was an enjoyable course with pretty Purbeck scenery, and some challenging slopes. I found myself in a competitive race with three other guys, Barry, Adam and Peter - check out the Strava flyby.

I overtook Peter about a mile before the finish and had to push hard to get some distance in the bank before the final downhill charge to the finish.  I reached line just ahead of him in 5th place in 37:27... but the course was about 170m short.  I ran at the same pace as at the Blenheim 10k last October in 38:21, which feels more realistic.

I was first vet, which I was chuffed about, apparently beating the local favourite, Hamish (sorry about that).  But the stunning result of the day was the wonderful Mrs S pulling a blinder out of the bag, on her debut return from injury.

Mrs S 1, Bad Knee 0

The Old Man award

A quirky, off-beat but super race - great fun.