I don’t tend to run 5-10ks very much anymore.  Nothing to do with the distance or nothing to do with the fact I don’t like the shorter distances, but given the choice I would rather do half marathons or further.  With that said, the Island Run was an event that fitted in perfectly with my training plan for the Bewl Water Ultra Marathon the week after and at great value for money (well compared with other events anyway) I thought it would be silly not to.  I signed up and made my way to the exotic Isle of Sheppey for what would turn out to be a great way to keep the legs fresh...

The online directions and information page for the race were very helpful and after getting parked up, made my way to the start area with no problems at all.  Going to the registration gazebo and collecting my number was just as easy and this gave me time to soak in the atmosphere and get prepared.  The event had the feel of a nice local, clubby feel to it, but it was by no means cliquey and the support for those doing the earlier Family Fun Run was great.

I made my way into the start pen and listened to the pre-race briefing carefully. Earphones were banned, the 5k had to turn earlier, follow marshal’s instructions and the 10k had a bit extra added onto the race that the 5k didn’t.  Simple.  After a quick countdown we were away and I started the race in the top three.  The positions changed between the top five for the opening 1k, but quickly settled and we were all evenly spread out.  Aside from the occasional ups and downs as we left and re-entered the seafront, it was a flat race and I was running really well.  The race was well marked out and the marshals were good, however there was an incident with the 5k runners where some were not told to make the turn by the marshal and ended up overshooting their run and having to sprint back to make up their time.  It may have been due to the weather which was slightly cooler than early-May would normally bring, but the crowd support for the race was very minimal and if you weren’t running the race with earphones (which I was not) this would be a long race.

I turned at the 3 mile mark and headed back towards the start/finish line which we left from.  Hitting the 5k mark in under 19 minutes was a great feeling and although comfortably in 5th and on for a sub-40 10k, I did not relent and kept running as best as I could.  Although the support from the crowd wasn’t as loud as it could be, the support from the marshals and other runners who I was running past in the other direction was brilliant and a real boost.

Making my way to the final cone and signing saying for the 10k to head straight ahead, I put my foot on the gas and just gave it my absolute all.  The runner in 6th was over my shoulder, but after holding 5th for so long, I did not want to lose it on the last stretch so I sprint finished down the ramp and ran as fast as I could over the finish line.  Fifth place and a 38:57 is a position and time I would have been absolutely over the moon with if it were offered at the start of the day and after receiving my medal, made my way back to the Avery Fan Club and the arcades.

It was a good race and a good day and with a few teething issues ironed out, this has the potential to be a great racing event.