Staplehurst 10 Miler

LOAD: 600

10 Min WU @ Easy Pace (RPE: 2)

10 Miles @ 10 Mile Pace (RPE: 4-8)

10 Min CD @ Easy Pace (RPE: 3)

A quiet time of the year in terms of races so plenty of appeal for this race. Mainly flat around local country lanes with one pretty brutal climb at 10k, so be prepared for that. A cheeky walk break is excused at that point. But it does mean a nice downhill finish and should allow for a good time. CLICK HERE to view the route.

I’m not that familiar with the route here but I believe the majority is flat with one very tough climb. My trusty pace chart is suggesting somewhere around the 8:20 average. But I think anything under 1:25 would be a very solid run here.

Coach Simon

FEEDBACK

ENJOYMENT

RPE

8:34

PACE

Very pleased with today’s race. Having been under the weather for the last few days and not even doing yesterday’s S&C session I had no expectations of performance today and played it totally by ear. Didn’t go off too fast not letting myself get carried away. I looked for someone running at a suitable pace to use them as a tow for a while and found a couple of perfect candidates who were totally oblivious to me sitting on their shoulders for the first 5 miles. I always had Sarah, Lindsey and Alice in my sight albeit possibly 5 or 6 hundred yards ahead and when I got to the hill I managed to grab the moment enough to close the gap somewhat and by the end of the second hill I was only a few yards behind them (Wow, can they talk though! 😆) Time to go for it I decided and as I crept past them Sarah came with me and thankfully gave me the encouragement I needed to push for the line. Although I could have possibly pushed a bit harder in the early miles I’m still happy overall especially average 1 m stride over this distance is a definite improvement for me.

Andy Alabaster

Glad you were feeling better and love this result. The likes of Sarah, Alice and Lindsey not only have a few years on you, but are training super hard. So to be running at the same level as them, and be able to join them for the final stretches of this race just highlights how strong a runner you are. Whilst we’ve not quite hit the heights of that parkrun PB, you’ve been so consistent with your races and training over the past 12-18 months that it deserves a lot of credit. You should be so pleased with your effort and result here. It’s all down to the consistent training you’ve put in this past year and hopefully you really enjoyed it to. Thank you Andy for your continued support, effort level and positivity. It’s a pleasure to work with you. Roll on 2025.