It tends to take me a good five miles to get into a run – so for that reason, I don’t enter many 10k races. By the time I’ve started to enjoy it, I’m being handed a t-shirt and it’s all over.

That said, my 10k PB is something I really wanted to work on this year. I can’t remember exactly what it is without looking it up – but I’m usually somewhere between 55-60 minutes depending on the course.

Wakefield Hospice got in touch and asked if I’d like to run their 10k – I kindly accepted. It’s a race I haven’t done before but I’ve heard a lot of good things about.

Before the race
The race started at 9 am, runners and spectators gathered beforehand at the Thornes Park Athletic Stadium, which, even with my navigation skills, was easy enough to find. Here, we were organised into pens by estimated finish time and led to the start which was about a kilometre away. I put myself near the 55-minute pacer – mainly because he had jelly babies! The weather was ideal race conditions – a cool wind but it was quite warm when the sun hit.

The route
It’s an undulating out and back along the A642 to Horbury – three miles each way. I’m not usually a fan of out and backs but with the first three miles were a steady uphill incline I was glad to reach the turn around point and head to the finish. A lot of people had gathered to watch and cheer runners on which created a really good atmosphere.

The result
The idea was just to run it as training miles for the Manchester Marathon and see how I fared. Even with a sneaky little uphill before the finish – it was a shiny new PB for me – 51.33. It must’ve been those jelly babies! I was surprised, as I don’t feel as fit as I did this time last year.

I really enjoyed it, it was well organised and had a warm, friendly atmosphere. More importantly, it was all for a fantastic cause. As always, a huge thank you to all the volunteers – without them events like this wouldn’t happen.

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Race Breakdown:
Entry Cost: £22.00 unaffiliated / £20.00 affiliated
Water stations: 1 at 5.5km non-sports top bottles.
Parking: 3 designated parking locations, Wakefield College, Cathedral Academy, The Space
Photos: Yes (although I managed to dodge the cameras)
Baggage Facilities: Yes – didn’t use
Post-Race Goodies: T-Shirt

Highlights: A new PB
Low points: A bit chilly in the wind but that’s nothing to do with the event.

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**I was kindly gifted my entry to this event.