Wetherby 10K

WETHERBY 10K - 37.41

On 14th September I popped over to Wetherby for a cracking little Yorkshire run. Thank you very much to Robert Gray and his gang at Wetherby Runners for hosting a race that lives up to its billing. This is a rapid course, but which tends to attract a relatively mortal standard of competitor.

Mercury came 2nd, hot on the heels of Dunn Running. White Knight was also blistering. Dare I say it, so was I, right up until the point when I had to stop and walk. With 1KM to go there came a stabbing pain - a bit like the others that I've been suffering for around a year now - except this was enough to halt me in my tracks. Somewhat miffed, I soldiered on to cross the line in a respectable enough time, all things considered. My aim was to run a sub 37m race, and I would doubtless have been very close but for the casual stroll at the end.

The upshot of all this is that I've been referred to a Cardiologist to see whether we can get to the bottom of the problem. Crossing the line clutching your chest and being surrounded by St John's ambulance crew (not for the first time) is probably a sign worth heeding. Tomorrow morning I have an ECG scheduled for 24 hours, with a track session planed for the evening. Imagine the perplexed expression on the face of the person who examines that print out!

Anyway, I loved my first 10k. What a fun distance. All out 'spill yer guts on the pavement slogging through the pain barrier' kind of fun. Oh, and I almost forgot - we won the 2nd team prize and as our third counter (29th) I was £10 up! That covered the fish and chips that we pilled in to the Wetherby Whaler for after the event.

The following Sunday I went for a trot round Lake Ullswater with the wet nosed four legged hairy rabbit chaser. It was right up there with running up Ingleborough in deep virgin snow last Easter Sunday as one of the most beautiful runs I've ever done. You may get an impression of this from clicking on the satellite image below. The lad and I saw a red deer stag taking his family of three out for a stroll over Place Fell, which together with the breathtaking view that greeted us as we came round the fell to face the Helvellyn range, were the highlights of the morning. Pure soul running.