The Barry Richards 10K has always been a favourite of mine. My times down the years have ranged from 1:04:32 (yes it was a best effort) to 40:50, so it’s been a really nice reminder of my progress and what impact training plans can have our progress.
It was great to learn more about Barry from Lou’s research and the part he played in the club, and just why this race has his name attached. I think those of us who turned up to marshall, race to the best of our abilities, in the westerly breeze and drizzle, did Barry proud.
With so many of Team Orange being part of this wonderful club, we had a fantastic turnout of 23 runners on Thursday. My first instinct upon stepping out of the car and feeling the brisk wind batter my feeble frame, was that our times were going to be heavily impacted by the unfortunate conditions.
But those of us that train hard all year round, we’re used to this weather. We’ve been out in temperatures ranging from -3 to 30 degrees. We’ve battled the heavy winds ripping in off the Atlantic Ocean at parkrun and returned home from rain soaked Sunday long runs, still remaining positive from the miles we’ve smashed out.
So once the race got underway, attention turned to our pacing strategies, the form cues we’ve been working on and giving our all for the 10,000 metres ahead.
The consequence of this positive approach was an incredible number of personal bests from the team. 9 in total! From 23 runners. Amazing.
Sam E displaying his now accustomed orange socks was the first of us to cross the line, narrowly missing out on first place overall, clocking a huge PB of 36:46.
Sam D was actually running his first ever 10k, which I find hard to believe from someone that has completed marathons and ultras. His time of 40:06 was superb in those tricky conditions.
I had the pleasure of running just behind Jake who makes this incredibly challenging hobby of ours, look so simple and easy. He elegantly glided his way to a new PB of 41:33.
Alice ran a perfect race, conserving some energy on the tough outward stretch and picking off runners on the return, finishing side by side with fellow Team Orange member Andy in 50:50 to annihilate her previous 10k time.
In close pursuit was Lindsey who despite only recently returning from a 2 week holiday, produced a fantastic performance to clock her own PB of 51:38 and continue her excellent improvement across all distances.
Jo, one of my first ever coaching clients is back on the Team and having just celebrated her 60th birthday, clocked a new PB of 55:13, still finding ways to get faster as her goal race at Loch Ness Marathon edges closer.
Lou who’s played such a big role in recent months in the club, ran alongside Jax to beat her 10k PB, which had stood for the last 5 years, crossing the line in 58:02. Jax recorded her fastest time in the Barry Richards at her third attempt.
Recent handicap champion Mark paced a fine race, to knock 9 minutes off his time from the previous year, recording a new 10K PB of 1:06:13.
Amazingly that improvement was bettered by Ellie who knocked 10 minutes and 30 seconds off her time from 2023, clocking a personal best of 1:07:39.
In fact, and I have a little inside information here, but the top 4 improved times were all members of Team Orange.
Of those not yet mentioned, Kieran agonisingly missed out on the vets trophy, outsprinted in the final 100 metres by in form rival Dave T.
Myself (41:40), Michael (44:43), Matt (47:13), Neil (47:51), Allan (52:32) and Kate (56:27) were all delighted with our efforts and finishing times, on a summers evening that felt more like November than August.
Klare record her best 10k time since 2021 coming home in 56:43 to mark further progression in her running. New members Esmee (56:52) and Jodie (1:05:47) both showed their potential to improve in the next few months or so with excellent performances.
Kelly was on hand to sweep marshal, helping Ellie run the time she did and Debbie was delighted to knock 3 minutes off her time from last year, feeling strong throughout, to cross the line in 1:12:50.
Safe to say I’m delighted with the results and the commitment shown from everyone on the Team. It’s such a great group to be part of and I’m excited about what lies ahead.
