Leeds 10k 2013

Below is my review of the Run For All Leeds 10k 2013.  It was my first race and this weekend I'll be running it again.  I'm a lot more prepared this time around.

Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Leeds 10k

On Sunday, along with almost 10,000 other people, I took to the mean streets of Leeds to take part in the Leeds 10k.  This was my first proper run since deciding to try and get fit in the middle of last year.  I'd taken the decision to do something about my fitness after realising that my son, R, would only be getting faster, as I was getting slower.

I got to Millenium Square at 8:10am and started to wonder what I was doing there.  Everywhere I looked there were people limbering up, stretching and generally looking like they knew what was going on.  A thought dawned on me.  If I just set of running, there and then, I could complete the course and be on my way home before the race had even started.

I didn't start running.  Instead I nervously stretched, took on water and tried to vanish into the crowds.  Now, I know what I put on my application form.  I know that I had estimated my time as around one hour and twenty minutes.  I do not know why I was corralled in with the elite athletes.  This did not do my confidence any favours.  The slowest section I could put myself in was sub forty five minutes, half my expected time.

We were ushered, by the army, to the start line, and there we continued to wait.  Finally, after standing around like cattle, whilst the morning sun beat down on us, a local radio DJ got us under way.  I was aware that I tend to run too fast but there was no slowing down.  Running in a crowd is infectious, you become part of a pack.  It's the closest I have come to feeling like a zebra on the Serengeti.  Luckily the crowds lining the route were a lot more friendly than the packs of lions that encourage the zebras across the plains.

The cheering on-lookers did help, as I'd be told they would.  The volunteers handing out water bottles and soaked sponges definitely helped.  Being passed by a panda and a banana didn't help my confidence at all.  But it was the thought of seeing my son at the finish line that kept my legs moving.  That and the thought of the money I'd raised for Bliss, got me over the finish line in one hour and seven minutes.

I know that I'm not going to challenge Mo Farrah any time soon but for me getting over the line was a great achievement.  If I can run for an hour, walking every now and the to catch my breath, then I'm sure I can kick a ball around a park with R without the need of an oxygen tank on stand by.

I chose Bliss, the premature baby charity, to run the 10k for as R was born 8 weeks early.  We were lucky that we didn't actually need their support but we witnessed first hand the work that they do for families who really need support when their dreams of a normal family life are in turmoil.  I know that my run is over but you can still support Bliss by donating on my Just Giving page.