Two for the price of one!
Val Kirby gives us two race reports for the price of one, as she tells us about Chippenham Longest 10k and Frampton 10k.
10K is a great distance to run on a hot summer evening. It’s long enough to be a challenge and short enough to fit in between afternoon tea and a cold beer. This summer I’ve entered several, trying to establish a consistent pace after months of being not quite the thing. I’ve even run most of them!
On 18th June I was the only Allrunner at the Chippenham Longest Day 10K. (Well it wasn’t quite the longest day, but close enough.) The event takes over the town’s central square. So for the inner runner there are pubs and cafés, as well as vans and stalls. One had luscious cakes, and another sold excellent coffee. Before the event the square was so crowded that it was almost a miracle to find myself next to the 65 minute pacers just in time to start. There were nearly 900 runners. The route is mostly out of town, in the lovely, undulating countryside, part lane, part trail. It had been a hot day and the evening was very warm, but much of the route was shady. It was a very pleasant run, but I couldn’t maintain a 65 minute pace – I was pretty happy with 69 minutes. The organisation was good and the atmosphere was lovely. It would be great to fill a car or two next year.
In contrast, there is always a good group of Allrunners at Frampton. This year the biggest challenge was just getting there, as an accident close to the M5 caused a tail back – I detoured through Eastington. The parking field was, of course, hard and dry – I have memories of sliding over muddy grass in previous years. If you don’t know Frampton, it really is worth signing up (be quick as places sell out quickly). Frampton green is a great place to mill around and spot friends – not surprisingly there are dozens of SADAC runners as well as our own club members. The 500 runners line up at the south end of the green and run north to the road to Saul, left over the Gloucester-Sharpness canal, and then off into the lanes. The route follows an undulating course, out past The Reddings and Barrow Hill and back through Fretherne. It was another warm evening, with high cloud in lovely patterns. Running back onto the green it was great to be cheered by Allrunners. The event is called the cider race: but last year the cider van didn’t make it. This year we all got our can of cider, and it was good to finish a couple of minutes faster than Chippenham.
