Date: July 21, 2022
Distance: 10k
Listened to: My own very loud breathing and Golding Corner x 2
I thought this event was worth a mention as the Kingsbridge 10k had formed part of my introduction to running back in 2018. Back then, I was full of fear and trepidation as I signed up to what must be one of the hardest 10k courses ever…in the world…ever…fact. Four years on, and I was still full of fear and trepidation, and almost did not sign up for it.
I had tried to allay my fears by attempting to run the route every month in 2021 and into 2022. My friend Marissa adopted the same technique and, more often than not, we would head out together, sometimes with others, to get the distance done. My enthusiasm for the monthly jaunts waned, but I was always tucking in some element of the race in my regular runs. Marissa, though, stayed true to her goal and continued to run the 10k route every month in preparation for the day the race would be run again post-Covid restrictions.
The day had come, Kingsbridge Fair Week was back on, which meant the 10k was a goer. Marissa was one of the first to sign up – that’s my girl – but I just wasn’t feeling it. When I say ‘it’, I mean I was still scared. Yes, I had done it before but that meant I knew how horrible it was!
The sign-up site described it like this: “From the start, the course goes up through the main street of Kingsbridge and quickly moves into the countryside climbing to a ridge which is at the highest part of the course…. The course then descends down a steep, picturesque route talking the runners back into town.”
I will pass over to Marissa for a more accurate description: “You will start running uphill, then carry on going uphill. After a bit of flat, there will be a Satan hill. Then more flat. Then you will have a lovely sense of ease until you start going uphill again, then again and you will start to swear at the hills. And just when you think you’ve got an easy downhill on the home straight, there is a tiny bit more uphill.”
It may be the journalist in me, but Marissa’s description is definitely the more truthful and it does not even cover all of the hills! Truth is, there are people who have run marathons that avoid the Kingsbridge 10k but even though I knew how gross it was, I still could not let it go by. It was also a chance to measure my progress in the last four years.
In 2018, my aim was to get round and truly advocate that slow running was still running. Dad was alive at this point and his lack of mobility was a driving force behind my foray into running. And I did get round. I could hear the safety car behind me most of the way, but I did it by walking whenever I got panicky or the hills proved too much. I did a lot of walking! As my second ever race, I began panicking from minute one and by the time I hit the bottom of Fore Street, my legs and my lungs had frozen. I ended up coming in 1 hour 11 minutes later.
I knew I could do the distance in 2022 but was not sure how I was going to do it. I had run every section of that route, but never put together an all-out run for the entire 10k. I had a dress rehearsal a few weeks before, determined to run every step. I achieved this but needed rests at the top of the hardest hills to get my breath back. While my moving time was 1 hour 2 minutes, my elapsed time was 1 hour 5 minutes and that would have been my race time. I was not convinced the all-out running approach was going to suit me.
I still had not signed up as Fair Week began, but the thought of watching others do it did not rest easy with me, so I paid my money and registered. All I wanted to do was beat my 2018 time. But even if I didn’t…who on earth would care? It was also the last time that Golding Corner would be a feature. Good friends Suzi and Tim Golding have a house on the route that the runners pass twice. It is the perfect spot for supporters to gather and cheer us on. With a potential move on the cards, this was likely to be the last time Golding Corner would be Golding Corner.
The field was a small one of around 70. Either Marissa’s course description had got out or the recent heatwave had put people off. It meant I recognised a large number of the field with some close friends amid the ranks. I was jittery as usual but in a controlled way. I just wanted to get round and be a little bit faster.
I ran up Fore Street, which I did not to do that last time. At one point, I was running alongside my friend Ross, but then life slipped back into normal and he flicky-runned his way to the top. FYI He has a very flicky, bum-heel-grazing style. Then it was up to the primary school, but I just could not run all that hill. The race nerves gripped me again and I had slowed to a manic walk pace. At the top, Ali was waiting for me as she wanted to chat to someone along the way. I managed the primary school ridge with her and enjoyed the Golding Corner fanfare but then made her go ahead. I think I knew from that point that I was going to walk the hills and she is a better runner than me.
And that’s what I did, I walked the hills but ran like a loon on the flat and the downhill. I really pushed myself. I must have really annoyed people who were methodically plodding it out and I was charging past them, only to be caught by them on the hills again. The method did shake of a few steady runners as my lunacy got me far enough ahead at times and I felt good going into Golding Corner part two.
Somewhere along the downhill section of Church Street, I started to shiver and feel a little sick but knew I was less than a kilometre away. I still could not run the little kicker rise at the end though…one I do every time I run the route away from race day. Once at the top, I just wanted to get it over with but still managed a high-five with my ninja running friend Kate as I crossed Derby Road. By the time I had crossed the line, George, Rachel, Ross and Ali were safely through with Rach coming in as third placed woman and Ali going under one hour (George and Ross were also way under one hour too, in case you were wondering). No official results posted this year, but Strava tells me I did it in 1hour 1min. Despite my run/walk method, I had managed to take 10 minutes off my previous time. Jo, Marissa (legend) and Si came in shortly after to complete our little crowd of finishers. The reason Marissa is a legend (albeit there are many reasons) is that she had run 18 monthly practice 10ks to finally get the job done. That is dedication!
I would have dearly loved to get under the hour but would have had to run more to get there. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But I was not prepared to do that and really did not feel I could. I am chuffed with my progress though. It shows what plugging away can achieve. I am still a slower runner when I compare myself to the rapid crazies that knock-out marathons and the odd ironman for fun, but I have got quicker and know I can do the distance, which I was not convinced I could do in 2018.
A week after the race, I caught Covid on a trip to Portugal and am still suffering with it now. When you are too exhausted to even walk the dog, it puts running into perspective. Just being able to do a tiny run would feel like a luxury right now. If you can do it, keep doing it. You might even improve with time!
#slowrunningisstillrunning #runwalk #dowhatyoucan
Running for Dad 