2019 - my year of 10k races

A little later than planned, here is my review of the year of 10ks! Late in 2018 I decided that it would be a good idea to run a 10k race every month of 2019 as this would really help me to improve my running. I am also (as you have probably gathered by now) addicted to bling so the thought of 12 shiny medals was very appealing. I actually ended up with 16 shiny 10k medals as I got a bit carried away in May and June and decided to run three 10k races in each month. Note to future self - three 10k races a month is too many.

The plan, such as it was, was to get faster each month, although as with most plans, it didn't exactly pan out as hoped. However, the good news is that I did end the year a faster runner than at the beginning of the year. I got slower in the first three months which led to me starting this blog. I then sped up a bit in April and May before deciding to cut carbs from my diet which was a big mistake and meant that June's times were pretty bad. However, since July my times have steadily improved to my best time of the year which was 1:02:29 at Bushy Park in November. For these purposes I am ignoring my time for the Wimbledon Santa Run due to the somewhat challenging course conditions!

I shall not bore you with a rundown of 16 races, as most of them have been mentioned at some point in my blog, but thought I would recap my five favourite races of the year. I guess it should be no surprise that four of the five were also my best times of the year.

Bushy 10k Series

These are such lovely races, they are basically twice round the parkrun route so lovely and flat. They are quite small so you can turn up and collect your number and have a wee without having to allow loads of time. The medals are fabulous and they are excellent value for money. Plus I got my fastest time of the year in the November race at 1:02:29 so of course this makes my top five.

London Winter Run

Well, what can I say about this run? I love a big London 10k as you get all the fun and crowds and music and landmarks of a marathon but only have to run 10k! And this one has polar bears, penguins and huskies. And it is mostly flat. And there is a cool medal. Even after all my races this year, this may still be my favourite race ever. I am excited to be doing it again next month - I hope it lives up to expectations!

Hart 4 Relay Race

OK, so this is not a 10k, but I ran four 4k laps so more than 10k, and it is one of my top races of the year. It consists of teams of four people running 4k laps for four hours. There is a great atmosphere, it is fun being part of a team, and a 4k lap is very manageable, particularly since the last 2k is mostly downhill. But I think what really made this race for me is that it is when I first noticed the benefit of having lost 8kg.

Guildford 10k

Wow - what a race! I had such low expectations as I had a niggle, the course was going to be boring and started uphill and it was forecast to rain. But I absolutely loved it! As it was an out and back course there was always someone to wave to which meant I got to 5k without really noticing the running getting hard, and then there was a lovely downhill finish. I was thrilled with my time of 1:02:33 which was 2 minutes faster than my previous 10k and the medal was glittery! I was a very happy runner after this.

Wimbledon Santa Run

This race made the list not because of my time but because it was a lot of fun. It was the Sunday before Christmas so most people were in festive fancy dress and in the mood to enjoy themselves. There was even a womble helping with the warm up! The course was mostly flat but very muddy and with a lot of puddles and therefore a few detours through undergrowth, so there was no point worrying about time. This meant I could just enjoy the run in the sunshine round a pretty common surrounded by happy Christmassy people! I was extremely grateful for my Salomon Speedcross shoes which meant I was unlikely to end up actually in any of the puddles, it was interesting watching people in road shoes trying to navigate the course!

So my takeaways from 2019 are:

• Running is easier when you are lighter! I know, not exactly rocket science! I reckon losing another 5kg will really help so that is the current plan.

• Running is more fun when you don't obsess over times.

• But getting a good time always feels amazing.

• Running with friends is great, as long as you can keep up without thinking you are going to die. Maybe next year I'll manage to keep up and hold a conversation at the same time!

• I will never stop wanting shiny medals, no matter how many I have and how many extension bars to my medal hanger I need (thanks Rob!).

Best of all, I am going into 2020 knowing that I have so much more in me - I can't wait!