Bolsover 10k 2006

North Derbyshire Running Club 10k

17th December 2006

Race #4 - Report

With Christmas nearly upon us it meant only one thing to me in running terms. It was my final race of 2007. I have been planning this race for a couple of months, as many of my work colleagues showed a big interest in the event. However by the time the race came around there was only me running the race through a mix of injuries and late entries being declined.
The show as the say must go on and I awoke race day knowing I was going to set a personal best. I did my usual routine of walking around the block with a gentle jog at the end, before a shower and a light breakfast. I left for Heather’s (a Heanor Running Club member) house at 9am and shortly after we were en’ route up the M1 to Bolsover, Chesterfield, to the race which had been described as a ‘fast, flat course’. As you will have guessed by my early quote this was little white lie.
We arrived in Bolsover around 9.45am and walked around a mile to Bolsover School where the race was starting. This was a good chance to warm up as although sunny it was a very ‘fresh’ morning. We handed our bags in for storage in the main hall and proceeded to make our way to the start line.
Heather had told me that she had ran a similar time to mine in the previous race so we decided to run together but Heather said if I want to push on to do it and not worry about her.
The race started at 10.30am and immediately left the town centre and led out into the country. I felt like my calf’s were not warmed up adequately and I felt them tighten up very early in the race. Luckily it soon passed and I was in excellent spirit and was focused on that PB. I had just missed out in my last race so this time I was more than determined.
I remember on the route into Bolsover we saw a couple of the kilometer markers. The more noticeable one had to be the 4k marker. The reason I remember this clearly is just after the marker there was a large descent down, which of course meant that running the other way made it a nice little hill to climb. As we approached the 3k marker I looked at my watch and saw 23.03 and I signaled to Heather that we were well on course for a PB. I believe that the running gods saw this as a sign to take advantage of me and sent a chronic case of stitch my way. As we climbed the hill just before the 4k marker the stitch got that bad that I almost had to stop. I knew I couldn’t but I had no choice but to slow down.
The pain got steadily worse over the next two kilometers and I saw heather pull away into the distance as I continually had to press into my side in an attempt to shift the pain. It just never seemed to go and I remember thinking this is the worst I have felt in many runs and all I could think of is the Heanor 10k. I was on course for a PB and that dam stitch prevented me from getting it.
It was around the 7k mark that I noticed that the pain was starting to ease up and then suddenly it was gone. My breathing and slowing down had worked but I had lost a huge amount of time and I thought my PB would now be hit and miss. I decided there and then that my mental state at the beginning of the race was to end it with a PB and I was going to get it. I opened up the legs and really went for it. I began passing all the runners that had passed me. I was a man on a mission and I just knew that my stitch had gone. How I knew this I will never know but I just knew if I concentrated on my breathing that it would not be back.
At the 8k marker the course took a long descent down into a valley and I remember thinking that no hill this steep can end without a climb back up the other side. Low and behold at the bottom I saw the runners in front of me struggling up this mammoth hill. Having saved sop much energy whilst struggling with the stitch I ran up that hill with ease, passing many runners and feeling amazing in the process.
At the summit of the hill I felt a little fatigued but I remembered my training and my form and pace soon returned. I remember passing the 9k marker and you could see school and I thought “dam that’s a long way” and I looked at my watch and I do not remember the time all I remember is thinking that it was going top be very close.
I turned the penultimate corner and remember hearing a marshal say “At the top of this hill, sprint”. I reached the last corner and kicked it, passing many runners that I have become accustomed to since no matter how tired I am I always have that reserve for that final push. I crossed the line in forty seven minutes and eleven seconds. My chip time was a few seconds slower but I had done it, a new PB over 10k. Without that dam stitch I would have ran a sub forty five minutes, but hey there are many races in 2007 and I ended 2006 by setting a new record.


Conditions: Wet, Mild

Time: 47.04 (PB)




“If you want to hit the mark you must aim a little above it.”