Berkeley 10K

I entered Berkeley 10k back in the winter when the evenings were dark and short and the thought of a lovely spring evening running round a beautiful village seemed like an appealing idea.  The closer I got to the race the less appealing it seemed I have to admit!  However it was a beautiful sunny warm evening and I thought that must be a good omen.  The race HQ was in Hamfields Leisure Centre just outside Berkeley itself and so there were proper toilets as well as portable loos and somewhere indoors to leave your bags and relax before the race.  Unfortunately I thought I’d better leave the relaxation till afterwards and used the field outside to warm up! 

The route was simple and flat, we headed back along the road towards Berkeley before turning right and following a lane which made a loop round Berkeley.  We had to run the loop twice which wasn’t as bad as it sounds because there were people outside their houses cheering and a water station.  Then it was back down the road towards the leisure centre again. 

Owing to roadworks the finish had been changed this year and was off road onto a field, it felt a bit like doing a 100m sprint!  There was no water at the end of the race which was a pity but you could collect your race time ticket and then head back across the field to the hall where they did have water, squash and a selection of fruit for the racers – I did actually really enjoy the fruit (orange slices, watermelon and blueberries were the best bits!).

I suppose the main thing to point out about this race is that there is NO medal at the end!  I’m not sure I realised that when I entered.  However what you do get is a little paperclip on your race number which you exchange for a free drink in the bar afterwards.  It was either a half pint or a soft drink – I don’t think they were giving out spirits!! 

Looking back now if you weren’t driving and were up for a challenge you could probably have searched for the paperclips on the floor in the hall or collected from the runners who were leaving straight away!! Although there were no medals there were lots of different age group prizes (going up in 5 year increments right up to 80!!) ranging from boxes of wine to biscuits and even teabags!!  I must admit I was surprised to see someone choose a box of PG tips teabags for a prize though …

Berkeley 10k is a fast, friendly race with plenty of PB potential, I enjoyed it … afterwards!!

And well done to Liz Halliwell who achieved a PB. Fantastic running!