Stubbington 10k, 2020

I last ran this race absolutely ages ages ago, back in the early 2000s.  I really couldn't remember anything about it, but it's become a key part of the local road race scene with 2000 runners on a fast course.  The lovely Mrs S and I managed to park surprisingly close to race HQ despite the carpark being full, and briefly said hello to several friends before a bit of a scrum to get to the bag drop and then to the start.  It was a bright, cool and breezy morning which called for a bit of binbag chic.

Being in the middle of training for my current big target, the Wiltshire 10 in 4 weeks' time, I had a clear objective - finish this race in under 6-minute mile pace, which in my preferred units meant getting to about 3:40/km and ideally sub-37 minutes.  I was a bit nervous about this because I haven't run this fast since the 1990s - my century best, as far as I can establish, was 37:22 at Corsham last year.

There was no pre-race announcement or countdown, just a horn, a brief shuffle and into the race.  After a few hundred metres the crush eased and I started relaxing into a good pace.  I caught up with Alex Prinsep and we ran together for a while, but I lost him at about 2km as we went downhill into the Meon valley.  There was quite a tough uphill drag on the other side and then we were heading south into the wind.  I caught up with Paul Ashley and Nicole Frith and was feeling OK.

At about 7k I was on the sea front and the wind was now slightly behind, which was a good boost.  At 8k about 5 runners went past me, but I knew I was holding my own in terms of pace, although I was working right on the edge of my threshold.  I gunned it as best as I could in the final approach to be thoroughly trounced by Paul, who was doing better than he expected on his return from injury.

I crossed the line with a chip time of 36:38, 67th overall and 3rd M50.  I was thrilled to go under 37 minutes and to clock an average pace of 3:39/km.  Here are my stats.  Mrs S was also delighted with her time of 48:17 and 9th in category after a few weeks of niggles and injuries.  Then straight home for a roast beef family birthday dinner - perfect!

With Mrs S at the finish line

With OS runners Matt and David