| Race Details | |
|---|---|
| Event | Pontypool 10k Home Run |
| Date & Time | 26 February 2017 10:00:00 |
| Distance | 10k |
| Type | Road Race |
| Time (PB) | 43:27 (1:05:16) |
After a busy start to the weekend sorting out George’s bedroom, Rosie and I both took part in the Pontypool 10k Home Run on Sunday morning. The event is organised by St Davids Hospice Care and is always very popular (not quite as popular as the Lliswerry 8, but it does always sell out). So far I have not managed to get myself sorted early enough to get a place, so this year I booked a place almost as soon as the entries opened, and Rosie booked a place shortly after. I have run the route many times as it is so close to home, but this was the first time I have actually run the Home Run.
We arrived nice and early for registration and picked up our race numbers and chips, but this time
was a little different to normal. I was also able to pick up my race pack for the Newport Half
next weekend. This was a brilliant idea that will reduce my stress levels next weekend 
. The
weather was not looking overly pleasant prior to the start, but there were no heavy storms expected
so I was happy enough with it. This was going to be my first official 10k race (yes I did do the
Torfaen 10k in 2015 with Rosie, but that’s a downhill race so it doesn’t really count) so I was
hoping to post a good time, despite my less than stellar training in advance.
After a brief warm up, we lined up at the start and waited for the gun and then we were off. I knew the route had a tough hill in the middle, and a good downhill early on so I pushed hard right off the start posting a 6:43 first mile, then a 6:07 mile down the first hill. This was solely to give me a head start prior to the hill because I knew it was going to wipe me out pretty quickly. However, I felt pretty good going up the hill. I took it fairly steady to try to save myself for the return, but in the end it took me over a mile along the canal to recover from the hill. The canal section of the route is pan flat and normally quick, but this time we had a fierce headwind to contend with making the next 2 and a bit miles a lot more difficult than they should have been! Once back on the road, the wind abated and I felt like I was getting some decent speed in again. I was really pleased to give it a strong sprint finish up the hill in the park, although I was absolutely wasted by the finish line!
Once I was finished it was time to cheer the other guys on from club and to support Rosie in her final 200m. Rosie has done very little training for this event, so she was not expecting much, but in the end, she did absolutely brilliantly and finished the race with a strong sprint finish in a time of 1:17:18. I am so proud of her!
This was another well organised, local event with great marshalls and good support (especially
given the route). I am very pleased with how I did and I may look at doing some other 10k
races in the future.
It was a great race, and I will be competing again, despite the slightly boring generic 10k race
medal we received at the end 
.