Glooston

Nat...how about your thoughts watching all the tailenders coming in ...inspiring for newbie/potential first time racers?

I'll have a think and try to get somethign together. Don't suppose I said a lot about that! Did end up talking to some random people also waiting, so it was really nice!

Good job Richard.
I think those extra comments should be included...to encourage others next time round.

Can Nat add anything more about spectating...

RunnersForum Social & Glooston 10k - Saturday 21/6/08

The Build-up
The forum had been trying to get a social event planned for some time, but each time, after initial enthusiasm from forum members, plans disintegrated; probably through lack of an event leader... Early in 2008, Trinity heroically took it upon herself to become the much needed event organiser – and set about organising the forum's first ever (was it the first ever? I'm a relatively new guy!! Lol) social event.

Initial plans seemed to be going well, with members adding their names to the list of attendees, dates talked about, races suggested etc, until the social was narrowed down to one date that would suit all incorporating what sounded like a lovely 10k race. Sorted... But as the weeks went by more and more fell off the list for various reasons until the attendee's list had dwindled down to 3 hardcore runners and one super-hardcore supporter; Trinity, Steve, richardsimkiss & Nat.

For one forumite the day began VERY early, getting up at 3:30am to carry out the Summer Solstice and follow his club's tradition of meeting at Ness Point, the most easterly part of England, seeing the sunrise and then going for a run. After strong coffee, Steve met with 8 others to witness the sunrise...be interviewed by Radio Suffolk and then do a social run along the coast and back...to be interviewed once more by the radio guys. The 5.5miles were reported to be incredibly warm for that time in the morning, and took the intrepid 9 past 3 teenage girls who'd had several too many and then a group of people, flowers in their hair, having breakfast outside one of the beach huts. No rest for the wicked; Steve headed home for a shower and the obligatory bacon rolls, followed by a few hours at the allotment.

Meanwhile the others were still fast asleep – Richard temporarily woken by Steve's text message to confirm he'd got his message on the forum containing mobile number and had forwarded it onto Trinity, was determined to spend as long as possible in bed, and so went back to sleep.

Trinity had elected to drive up Friday and stay in a hotel rather than do 6 hours driving in one day with a race in between, which was great on Friday but was to prove not so great on Saturday whilst waiting for the others to arrive. Trinity got her money's worth by leaving her check-out as late as possible.

Steve and Nat had already been in contact prior to the event as Steve would be passing Nat's door on the way through to Glooston – he did the gentlemanly thing and offered Nat a lift, complete with a reference from Trinity that he was relatively harmless (for Nat's piece of mind). Steve left for Nat's house and received a text from Trin. Trinity had 5 hours to kill in an area where you'd struggle to fill 20 minutes, by 2pm she was losing the will to live and was almost ready to throw in the towel and head for home, text messages to that effect were sent to Steve and Rich. But with Steve having already left to collect Nat, Trin kept strong and awaited the arrival of the others in Glooston.

Steve pulled up outside Nat's house, and with both of them being complete strangers to each other they were understandably a little nervous, Nat came out the house to greet Steve and after a coffee they were on their way to Glooston, chatting away like they'd known each other forever.

Meanwhile Trinity had found a coffee shop and after a ciabatta and a large latte set off for race HQ, arriving around 4:45pm. Richard began his fairly uneventful journey around 3:30pm, following his trusty Garmin all the way to Glooston. Steve & Nat's journey flew by and they were soon at race HQ and were directed to the car park..."I know that face" Steve thought to himself as they drove past a certain lady...yep it was Trin.

After parking up they briefly met up with Trin before leaving so she could change in peace, and without prying eyes (with there being no changing facilities). The Nat & Steve twosome decided to have a quick look at part of the course... A steward pointed them in the right direction to see the hill..."not too bad" Steve thought, "I've been doing plenty of hill-work". Steve remembers at this point that the clouds were gathering and rain looked odds on. Just what Richard had been hoping for – perhaps not quite what spectator Nat wanted though!

Trinity had just finished changing when a text came through from Richard saying he'd just parked. Trinity looked round and recognised him straight away, and upon seeing the bright Runners Forum top waved hello. Richard recognized the car and saw a figure waving from inside, it was either Trin or some mad weirdo who should be avoided at all costs! Thankfully for Rich, it was the former.

After a warm hello, they went and met up with Steve and Nat. Richard hadn't yet registered for the race, and set off to get his race number while Nat and Steve passed on the news of the hill to Trin, deciding to keep the news quiet from Rich until he had handed over his entrance fee. Nat had fully intended to enter the race but decided that it was just a little soon for her to be entering a 10k and was happy to be attending as a spectator.

Richard then went off to change into his lime green racing shoes after attaching his number and Steve changed into his Runners Forum top - Trin went to warm up and was shortly followed by Richard. Soon it was time for the start of the race. Richard had planned to use the race as a gauge of his current fitness levels having missed a lot of training lately, Steve & Trin had agreed to run the course together.

The Race
The racers were called forward to the start line. Nat desperately tried to get out of the gathered runners in fear of being trampled to death and fortunately found her way to safety as the race began....just after a few drops of rain had fallen.

Trin and Steve were mid-packed as the starter's whistle blew... passing Nat on the right who as promised was waving and encouraging like a mad woman! The race began with a slight incline and soon leveled out; Richard was at the front of the field, momentarily in about 3rd/4th position [show off! – Steve]. Trinity thought that perhaps the incline at the start of the race was the hill mentioned by Steve and Nat… "So this must the hill Nat and Steve were talking about...pah! It's nothing to worry about".

The course then gently undulated, One guy broke away alone at the front of the pack and looked likely to stay there for the whole race, a chasing group formed that Richard began to fall away from. Steve was busy taking in the views of the surrounding undulating fields whilst Trin started to realise that the undulations were more down than up... meaning there was more up than down to come before the end of the first lap.

For Trin the pace felt slightly more than brisk, her lungs reacting to the dampness in the air and being an asthma sufferer, warmer dryer conditions would've been preferred. She focused on even breathing, and keeping the pace with Steve.

Richard was the first of the forumites to reach the hill:
"The 2 mile marker was followed by a left hand turn back towards the start, and with it came the start of the hill. I was aware the course was perhaps undulating, but I certainly wasn't expecting a hill of this magnitude. It started off steadily, and got progressively steeper…"

Trin's reaction was of a similar nature:
"Then we turned left and OMG... so that's the hill!"

The hill was deceiving, a turn to the left in the road suggested the summit of the hill, but alas, around the corner the hill continued, possibly even steeper than before! The hill leveled off briefly and then climbed a little further before EVENTUALLY reaching the summit. Richard had managed to close the gap on the man ahead of him but reportedly had lungs that were ready to explode. Trinity confesses the hill temporarily got the better of her, forcing a few steps in walk. Steve however seemed quite un-phased by the hill, and skipped his way to the top.

Thankfully for the runners it was a much needed downhill all the way to finish the first lap and as they started the second lap there was Nat… shouting and cheering, jumping up and down... with her long red hair flying all over the place!

Nat's enthusiastic support spurred Richard on, and he pushed hard to break away from the guy he'd caught on the killer hill. Not far behind Trin said she wouldn't mind if Steve went off ahead of her....."You don't get rid of me as easily as that" was his reply.

Before you could say "Bugger me that hill was steep", the runners once again reached the bottom of the hill. Richard managed maintain his gap from the racer behind, despite almost grinding to a halt having reached 95% of his max heart rate during the struggle; the Trin/Steve duo were soon to follow.
Steve again pranced up the hill, whilst Trin dug deep to struggle up with pains returning from a recent calf injury. Steve ran BACK DOWN the hill to join her [nutter! – Rich] on the last bit of the incline where news that Trin was currently 3rd female spurred her on towards the finish.

to be continued...

It's pretty long... apologies....

Other comments I picked up that could be added to encourage more people to attend future socials:

"It really struck me how cheerful and happy everyone was, and how welcoming they were of me – a complete stranger they hardly knew from an internet forum. I've been to socials on other forums and a lot of people will stand around saying nothing, and ignore anyone they don't know. We all had a great laugh and I’m so thankful to the RF Three for not only being so friendly, but for motivating me again. I was so proud to be supporting them from the sidelines – they did so well" – Nat

"Great race… perfect weather (for me) and even better to meet everyone... I shall certainly look forward to the next one" – Rich

"…a word of advice for all of you newbies out there – don’t sit back and wait behind your screen. Bite the bullet and get to one of the socials which I hope will become more regular. Don’t be frightened, make the effort and you wont be left standing on your own. You’ll meet some really great people who will make you laugh, gear you up and inspire you. If I can do it, anyone can!" – Nat

"I was a complete forum social newbie too! Although I'd spent plenty of time on the forum, I'd never met anyone from the forum - so of course was a little nervous. Though as Nat says, nobody was left on their own and everyone was very friendly. I'm normally a very shy retiring person when put into new groups but these few forumites certainly put my fears to rest. I'd sincerely encourage anyone to come along to the next one." - Rich


Perhaps you guys can add any little bits of detail I've left out... perhaps things like something about the tutu??

Hahahahaha, you guys!!

That just about covers it Chris!!

* takes a machete to Steve's report and reduces it to "Steve ran the race. He did alright" *

I'm up to 3 A4 pages, lol... I've just got to the end of the race though, so shouldn't be too much more... Once i'm done i'll post up what i've got then anyone else can edit it as much as they like.

I won't be offended if it's chopped to pieces or even binned Bairy, obviously you'll have some idea of what you want the final article to look like!