I ran this race for the first time three years ago when I was just starting to get into running. I was beginning to take it more seriously and actually entering races rather than just jogging loops around the local roads. I remember really enjoying the event at the time it as it showcased the best bits of the city and was a good flat course that wasn’t a million miles away from where I lived.

Fast forward to 2018 and I was signed up again…a week after Frampton, where I felt I ran very well, given the warm evening and undulating course. Due to a number of diary clashes over the past couple of years, I was back again; knee deep in the unexpected heatwave that had taken the country by surprise, Wimbledon fortnight and the 2018 World Cup…was it finally coming home?

As a result, I’d somewhat neglected to prepare in my usual, meticulous way for the race, and instead, had found myself wading through a bottle of vodka and a vat of cider the day before, as England dispatched Sweden to book themselves a placed in the Semi Final. It was no surprise to find myself feeling somewhat jaded, dehydrated and lacking any energy and enthusiasm when the alarm went off at 6am on the morning of the race. I hadn’t prepared my kit, so threw together something that looked like it matched and resembled a ‘runner’ (clearly in the loosest possible terms if you’d have seen the state of me), grabbed a bottle of water and headed into the city. At that point I realized I hadn’t eaten anything, and 15 minutes later, realized that I didn’t have my wallet with me. Back home I went, and half an hour later I was parked up…minus my phone, which I’d also left at home…

I walked the 10 minute journey to Gloucester Park, where the race was to start and finished, already beginning to feel the heat of the morning sun, not helped by the near cloudless skies above. It was going to be a hot one today. It was at that point that I realized that I’d left my bottle of iced water in the car that I was intending to run with…

It was a fairly small race consisting of about 700 runners, with many of the usual suspects that I see at other races in the county participating – Kingsway, Severn, Hucclecote, Stroud, Gloucester, Dursley and a number of runners from clubs in and around Bristol. I even bumped into and chatted to a #visorclub member who had come across from Cirencester. There was a bag drop and a decent number of toilet cubicles and urinals, which meant that the queues weren’t too bad as the race approached.

The race started at 9am and the severe lack of breeze and shade meant that it felt much warmer than the predicted 22 degrees. The gun fired and we ran about 100 metres through the park and onto Spa Road before heading into Southgate Street which led into the city centre.

The first mile went well and I ran it a shade over 7 minutes before we turned off the main drag and headed towards the Cathedral. The second mile was very windy and twisted through lots of narrow alleyways and pathways which meant it was hard to get any real momentum and keep to a decent pace. It was also tricky to overtake, so on occasions I found myself slowing down until a gap allowed me to nip past other runners. Having said that, I still ran it reasonably quickly and I think I went through in around 7.18, so I was pleased with how the race was progressing for me.

However, the effected of the day before and the very warm conditions started to catch up with me in mile 3 as we navigated our way around the docks and the quays. Again, there were a number of twists and turns that I’d not remembered from the first time I ran the race, and I began to struggle to keep the pace up that I’d set in the early stages. As we left the docks and headed out onto the Hempsted by-pass I was gasping for a drink and felt like I was beginning to wade through treacle. My legs we heavy and I was struggling to breathe consistently. By the half way point I was beaten and knew I had to find the strength and reserves to keep going and just finish! I took water on, but drank too much, which gave me a stitch and a stomach ache (which was probably the remnants of drinking the day before resurfacing), so I just got my head down and tried to push through as best as I could.

After a slight up and down section on the by-pass, we turned left and headed back towards the docks along the canal towpath. Again, this was narrow, so care had to be taken at certain points; especially when you were feeling as fatigued as I was! I’ve run along the canal a thousand times before on training sessions, so roughly knew how far it was until we entered the city again.

There were pockets of supporters lining the streets as we entered the city again and at that point I knew that we only had just over a mile to run…thank god! My mile times had now crept up to a shade over 8 minutes, but my time was now irrelevant. I just wanted to go home!

As we run through the quays again (packed with enthusiastic and vocal supporters cheering the runners on) and turned up onto Southgate Street once more, I knew I wasn’t too far from the park. I didn’t have any energy to increase the pace or finish with a sprint as I had done in Frampton the week before, so I just concentrated on keeping my form and trying not to look too distressed as I eventually left Spa Road and entered the park.

My time wasn’t amazing by any stretch – 47.53 – but I was pleased I had toughed it out and eventually reached the finish line after struggling throughout the race with a hangover and serious dehydration!

The Gloucester 10K was a great local race and supported really enthusiastically by the local running community and businesses, so I hope it continues to grow successfully and becomes a permanent fixture on the local race calendar.  

My city of birth and when planning to visit family, it was suggested by the mother in law to sign up to this as some of her running club were taking part. 

Im always game for a medal so signing up was done easily and very cheap (£20 ish) 

Communication was satisfactory with emails sent out the week before about racecday logistics. My only pet hate is collecting numbers on the day- but as race was cheap I can see why and only 800 runners meant there was minimal queue. 

The route took in historical parts of Gloucester although in the heat these were wasted on me as I focused on not dehydrating and passing out. One thing I noticed was it was very flat. A PB route on a fair weather day. 

Medal was basic and tshirt was mainly sponsors but it was something to remember the day fondly. 

Very impressed by the marshals, they really did put that extra bit of effort in. And many had extra water just in case. 

Knocked a mark off safety as notbthe Run itself but at the finish I wanted to find a first aider to get something sterile to clean out a dirty graze (yes I fell I over !) but none to be found and no race staff knew where to find one. 

Definitely do again as very cheap and we’ll organised. 

My city of birth and when planning to visit family, it was suggested by the mother in law to sign up to this as some of her running club were taking part. 

Im always game for a medal so signing up was done easily and very cheap (£20 ish) 

Communication was satisfactory with emails sent out the week before about racecday logistics. My only pet hate is collecting numbers on the day- but as race was cheap I can see why and only 800 runners meant there was minimal queue. 

The route took in historical parts of Gloucester although in the heat these were wasted on me as I focused on not dehydrating and passing out. One thing I noticed was it was very flat. A PB route on a fair weather day. 

Medal was basic and tshirt was mainly sponsors but it was something to remember the day fondly. 

Very impressed by the marshals, they really did put that extra bit of effort in. And many had extra water just in case. 

Knocked a mark off safety as notbthe Run itself but at the finish I wanted to find a first aider to get something sterile to clean out a dirty graze (yes I fell I over !) but none to be found and no race staff knew where to find one. 

Definitely do again as very cheap and we’ll organised. 

Online registration was quick and easy. Race numbers were then emailed out a few days before hand along with final race day instructions.

Bib numbers were available for collection from 07:30 on the morning and with minimal queuing.

The recent warm weather continued and it was rather hot waiting for the event to start and we were promptly off at 9am which was a relief. 

The course was well marshalled throughout and took in the sights and scenes of Gloucester, including the Cathedral, Docks, Quays and Canal. Due to the hot weather many of the marshals had extra water just in case it was needed. There was also lots of local support from shoppers in the quays and others along the way. Including a lovely lady near the cathedral armed with her hosepipe. A few issues with shoppers not understanding that a race was happening meant a little bit of additional navigation at times but not a big issue as marshals quickly pointed out what was going on.

Water stations were available at 4km and 8km, where we were handed a bottle of water. Lids had been removed and disposed of meaning it was diffult to then carry them. The course was mainly flat and good PB potential but just too hot for me! 

The event was supported by SARA along the canal sections to ensure everyone was safe and bicycle first aiders were also present along the route. Excellent marshal positioning on road crossing was really good.

It is difficult to find faults with this event. It was well attended, supported and organised. Finishers received a medal, t-shirt and goody bag containing a flapjack, piece of fruit, pencil and bottle of water.

The Gloucester 10k is a relatively small local event, with about 700 runners participating this year. The race started and finished in Gloucester Park, just outside the city centre, so is easy to reach by public transport or by driving, with plenty of car parks in close proximity.

Registration was pretty painless, with a stall set up and separate queues formed depending on the first letter of your surname. The queues moved quickly, and we were provided with an envelope containing our race number and timing tag. A table just behind the stall contained a plentiful supply of safety pins for us to attach the numbers with. There was also a bag drop area for left luggage, which again was well organised.

I've marked down the race briefing as, for some reason, the speakers were positioned facing away from the runners so none of us could hear what was being said! I'm sure it was motivational...

The course itself is primarily flat with a few gentle inclines, the longest of which is between 4k and 5k. It cuts through the city centre, passing by the stunning cathedral and through its grounds, and running through the historic Docks area. You then head out of the city for a couple of km, before doubling back and heading along the canal towpath back to the Docks. The last couple of km are retracing your steps through the city centre, before finishing back at the Park. All in all, an enjoyable route, and a good opportunity to see the various sights of Gloucester (for rugby fans you also get a glimpse of Kingsholm). The only slight criticism of the course is that some areas are uneven underfoot (cobbles in the centre and some parts of the canal path), so you need to be careful when running to avoid tripping.

I was pleasantly surprised by the level of local support, with plenty of people at the start & finish, but also groups of people all along the route cheering us on. Numbers were particularly strong around the Docks, which has a number of bars, restaurants and shops. Marshals were all around the route, offering encouragement and managing traffic when we crossed roads, which aren't closed for the race; although did not negatively impact runners due to how well it was controlled. There was a water station located just at the edge of the Docks, which doubled up for use at 3.5km and 7.5km. This was well-run with plenty of water available, and I saw volunteers picking up all the discarded bottles for recycling, which is great to see.

At the finish we were presented with medals as we crossed the line, which were good quality and a nice design; and were then given a technical t-shirt. Goodie bags were available to pick up, which contained the normal snacks, as well as a copy of the local paper. All in all, pretty good for the size of the event.

Overall, a well-run, well-organised, enjoyable event.

This is my home town event and even though I could run the course any day of the week I still enter to support the organisers and experience the atmosphere of a great race. The course is beautiful for the most part and very challenging due to the canal section. It is busy in some areas but this all changes depending on your pace (bottlenecks occur at entry to Cathedral and in parts of canal when in groups) but this doesn't have much of  negative impact on the overall pace. Aid station is water only in the same spot (two way as out and back course) and can be a bit 'messy' again when in the pack.

I am a fat lad at the back and the value for money for me has been poor over the 3 years i've entered as I am yet to receive a tshirt that i can even get around my shoulders having been given a S, M and this year a L whereas I need a proper sized XXL not a slim fit XL. I went to the volunteer with the largest size yesterday (L) and ended up being given a S! This is something that is easily resolved with a simple question on the registration process what size you require and then ordering the correct sizes to match with a size mark on the race number so you can only claim the size you've ordered. I am seriously disappointed that I cannot wear this shirt with pride around my home town and to be honest from looking around at other entrants in my time bracket I am not the only one who will have experienced this issue - alas this has fallen on deaf ears in the past two years when I have emailed the organisers.

Lastly, headphone bans - whats the point? I usually run with bone conducting which were legal yesterday but i opted to go without as I was running with a friend. The amount of people running with headphones this year was the worst i've seen it meaning my safety and the marshal supervision were negatively affected - not enough was done to warn/DQ offenders and I did have to shout as i approached one person on a bottleneck (as mentioned the canal is a bottle neck) so I could get past as they walked with headphones in right in the middle of a narrow section. Some of the road crossings were interesting too but when it's open road with minimal marshals/police to enforce traffic stopping it's difficult.

Overall an event worth doing if you want something scenic at a decent pace and have a average sized frame for the t-shirt you pay up front for!