Kirkintilloch 10k: 14th June

Well tally ho and away we go. The first 10k of the season was a strange one. I only entered it late on and with it coming just a few weeks after a tilt at the Edinburgh Marathon I wasn’t really expecting much.

The race is held on a Thursday evening, hosted by those ever efficient chaps at Kirkintilloch Olympians and their mega-productive Race Director Robert Rogerson. This is the second race of the season for them, coming a few months after the lauded 12.5k.

It was a nice night in June, not too oppressive. An easy and efficient registration meant myself and Darren Russell had time for a quick stretch and some light jogging before the race got underway in the mean streets of Kirkintilloch. Essentially the route was a street start with about 70% of the race run along the Forth & Clyde Canal from Kirkintilloch to Cawder then back again via a loop that brushes the edges of Bishopbriggs. It is flatter than a nightclub’s first pint of the night, save for one wee hill at Cawder.

I went into the race in relatively good shape and was holding a PB of 42:36 over the distance, a record which had stood for 4 years, mainly due to the fact I never tried to beat it. My aim was to run well and shake the marathon and the associated training from my legs. I hadn’t run a sustained 10k pace for a while.

As it was I went out quicker than I anticipated and found my rhythm quite easily, chunking out 6:35 miles and at halfway I was just under 21 mins. I then did the second half in about the same time and came home in a commendable time of 41:26, taking 70s off of my old PB. I finished 35th out of 272 runners and in % terms (top 13%) it was probably my best finish ever at that stage.

I was pretty pleased with this. However, this race sparked the notion that with some good training I could go much quicker over this and all distances up to the marathon. I’ve been working on that since (and took a further 3 mins of this time in Cumbernauld in September).

The race is a nice friendly affair, the 272 runners would probably feel quite busy towards the back on the tight parts of the canal tow path but in the main it is another triumph for the Olympians, whose running series is a must do if you live nearby. Entry was £2 and for that you got an organised, timed race and a bottle Froach in your goody back.

It doesn’t get any better than that now.