Harewood 10k
The 8th of March saw the start of my season with the Age UK Harewood House 10k. It looked as if I might miss the event as we hit gridlock some way from the entrance to the house. Interest was provided during the hold up by Evans Ride It participants heading in the opposite direction – all ages, shapes, sizes and bike types. In the end we debauched from the car in good time only to find that the start was to be delayed by 15 mins.
There was a good turn out with nearly 2000 runners taking part. The course was almost entirely off road and very scenic. The down side to this, of course, is that running with lots of people over roughish footing is tricky as the bodies in front of you obscure the upcoming pitfalls. Weaving through the field also meant running on loose/sinky ground or through branches. Most irritating were my laces undoing and having lots of people I’d just overtaken trotting past me as I retied them. And then there were hills. The most notable was a steep incline from around 7.5 to 8.5 K. Lots of people were walking up this and those who ran up were celebrating at the top as if they’d just won.
I was happy to finish feeling strong and having enjoyed the run. Time not great 52:11 but a good outing and an excellent event. The course is most attractive and gives plenty of opportunities for spectators to watch their loved ones panting and puffing along. Or you may have a supporter who prefers to listen to Australia v Sri Lanka ODI in the car.