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.