Ruthin 10k Sunday 23rd February
– Karen Horsley
With the recent storms and more wind and rain forecast for the weekend I was starting to wonder why I thought a 10k race in Wales in February would be a good idea! However, on the day we were actually treated to a relatively dry and mild morning. As someone who always frets over getting lost, not being able to park, and then missing the start I was very pleased by the “follow signs for Ruthin and the car park is on your left” approach to navigation.
The start line was a short walk from the car park and the 5k and 10k race starts were staggered. Unfortunately, some sections of the 10k course were flooded so the route was adapted to be two loops of the 5k course, which also had some standing water to splash through – twice for the 10k runners. The course was a mix of roads, footpaths, country lanes, and residential areas. It wasn’t closed roads which was a shame as the motorists weren’t always that considerate of the runners, but to be fair there wasn’t really space for the tractor to move over. There were some great downhills and surprisingly little uphill, the scenery was lovely with the backdrop of Welsh hills, there weren’t many marshals or supporters but they were very encouraging, the other runners were friendly and chatty. Liked the straight sprint to the finish line and the fact that (apart from my feet) I’d miraculously remained dry! Rewarded with a medal and a slice of carrot cake, it was then that the rainclouds emptied… got soaked in the two minute walk back to the car which was actually kind of funny.
I really enjoyed it, it felt more like a relaxed social run than a race, and I will certainly consider returning next year to hopefully run the planned 10k course.
Photos from the cross-country race at Runcorn Town Park
Parkrun
A big well done to those who took part in parkrun this week, whether running or volunteering.
The times for club members can be seen here.
https://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=1721
Please send race reports, photos, etc. to helsby-race-reports@outlook.co.uk, we always love reading them.
Thank you,
Karen xx 🙂