The weather was warm, humid and windy – not ideal running conditions (for me anyway!).
After picking up our numbers and a race tag that attached to our shoe laces, the loud PA system set us off at 10:30 – an initial left turn followed by a wide closed road helped the runners thin out quickly without getting in each other's way. The course was relatively flat, with the occasional rise to motorway/roads bridges to negotiate (we crossed both the M62 and M6 twice). The route took us along a number of closed roads and twisty paths, with some tree cover, and was very well marshalled; a number of people shouted encouragement from the sidelines.
The initial part of the race went quite fast, but slowed down once the conditions started to take effect with a welcome water station at 5K. The last section gave a very good view of the straight to the finish. After crossing the finishing line and having the tag removed from our shoes, the first ladies to finish were handed a bunch of flowers and everyone got a pink or bright red towel: an interesting departure from the t-shirt and medal.
Overall a good race course – with all the Striders agreeing that the conditions contributed to longer times than they were expecting (excuses, excuses!).
Results: (940 Runners, winners time 33:05)
Name Time Position
Andy Thomas 42:17 107
Heather Carter 43:05 120 (3rd in her category)
Tom Mayall 49:26 307
Andrew Gibson 57:49 603
Denis Culloty 59:42 659
Andy T