Firstly, a big thank you to all the competitors who ran in our first event. Congratulations to our winners on the day Gary Marks and Audrey Macmillan, both worthy winners and extremely modest and likeable people. They even managed to set a new course record each!
The day was bright and sunny which helped the atmosphere no end and
also made the car parking field accessible. Far more people turned up
to enter on the day than we had anticipated, which resulted in long
toilet queues and gave Alexia a chance to put into practice all the
skills she learned from watching Blue Peter as a child by fabricating
running numbers from bits of sticky back plastic or whatever. Other
repercutions were the delayed start and lack of sufficient medals,
however despite these small teething troubles the main race got off at
about 11.10am.
Gary shuffled round in a very spritely 35 minutes or
so and would have been pushed even harder for his maiden win if Stephen
O'Neils legs had held out for another 400m, I didn't manage to ask
Stephen if it was a lack of race fitness that caused his momentary
wobble or the strong smell of beer wafting out of the pub window!
Further down the field the racing was just as close and I know that
many people acheived personal best times on the day. The real stars of
the show perhaps though, were all the first timers that completed the
distance. It really made our day to see so many beginners starting
their running careers at Arkendale and just goes to show that the age,
fitness level, weight barriers that put so many people off, are just
challenges to be overcome for those that have the inclination to
improve themselves. So, well done to you all, each and every one of you
contributed to the success of the race and the enthusiasm you have
shown will make sure that the race will be on the calender next year.
Also, when I went round on a litter hunt after the race there was none
to be found which meant I could go home an hour or so earlier than
expected to put my feet up, how good is that?
Thanks again everyone and see you next year (if not before)
The day was bright and sunny which helped the atmosphere no end and
also made the car parking field accessible. Far more people turned up
to enter on the day than we had anticipated, which resulted in long
toilet queues and gave Alexia a chance to put into practice all the
skills she learned from watching Blue Peter as a child by fabricating
running numbers from bits of sticky back plastic or whatever. Other
repercutions were the delayed start and lack of sufficient medals,
however despite these small teething troubles the main race got off at
about 11.10am.
Gary shuffled round in a very spritely 35 minutes or
so and would have been pushed even harder for his maiden win if Stephen
O'Neils legs had held out for another 400m, I didn't manage to ask
Stephen if it was a lack of race fitness that caused his momentary
wobble or the strong smell of beer wafting out of the pub window!
Further down the field the racing was just as close and I know that
many people acheived personal best times on the day. The real stars of
the show perhaps though, were all the first timers that completed the
distance. It really made our day to see so many beginners starting
their running careers at Arkendale and just goes to show that the age,
fitness level, weight barriers that put so many people off, are just
challenges to be overcome for those that have the inclination to
improve themselves. So, well done to you all, each and every one of you
contributed to the success of the race and the enthusiasm you have
shown will make sure that the race will be on the calender next year.
Also, when I went round on a litter hunt after the race there was none
to be found which meant I could go home an hour or so earlier than
expected to put my feet up, how good is that? 