I was asked to be a pacer for this event only the Friday before the race by my friend Darren and it was honestly one of the best decisions I have made in my running life for years. I arrived at the race hq after the short walk from the local school that could be used for parking and met up with the other pacers who would be running the event. Everyone at the event from the marshals, to the MC, to pretty much every runner was unbelievably friendly and after a informative race briefing over the loud speaker we were off! We left the industrial area of the race HQ and what this lacked in scenery, the rest of the race made up for. Beautiful winding country lanes, plenty of things to look out for such as the hop farms and other wildlife as we were running and a fun crowd who were trying to get under the 1:50:00 mark made this a really enjoyable experience. The first few miles sailed by and before we knew it, we were at half way. The crowd I was with were still going strong and the support we received from people at the aid stations was a welcome surprise, as this is an area I thought lacked in this race when I first attempted it in 2016. Coming towards the last few miles of the race and the pack I ran with were encouraging each other to fly over the quite unforgiving railway bridge which felt like a mountain on an otherwise flat course. The last mile of this race takes you away from the country lanes and wildlife and back into a more rural atmosphere. With that said and that time of the morning, that didn’t stop the locals coming out of their house to cheer everyone on and join in with the marshals in encouraging people towards the finish. The last section of the race was coming up and after twisting and turning back along the route we started on, we found our way back to the finish line and to the industrial estate. I crossed the finishing line with plenty of other runners just over 1:49: 00 and received a number of high-fives and handshakes from some very grateful runners! The medal this year was great and one that is now proudly hanging on my medal hanger in my house. A big thank you to Darren and the other pacers for having me, a big thank you to all the runners who managed to stay with me and make the race a memorable experience and a big thank you to Paddock Wood in general for a great race! See you next year for sure!!