New Year's Day - Cleethorpes 10k Race Report by Coach Dave

I am not sure how many times I have actually done this race but I try to make the annual New Year’s day trip over.

The Cleethorpes event for me is special as it was on this very same course many moons ago that I ran under 30 minutes for the distance for the very first time. The course is flat and fast but can be subject to the wind as any race by the coast often is with this year no exception!

Having done little or no racing other than a  few Park Runs and a 5 mile race in August I went into the race not really sure what to expect.

The group met the day before and we did a session on the Daneshill Lakes loop and then an afternoon of filming strength and conditioning classes coupled with a couple of drinks the night before was hardly the perfect preparation to race hard but warming up and then doing my 1x3mins threshold before standing on the startline my legs actually felt ok!

For those who haven’t done the course before you do 2 smaller laps before heading off on the final bigger loop before turning onto the seafront to finish.

I decided to go off fairly hard to see how the first loop went and then decide a game plan from there as I knew the wind on the 4th mile would be tough and slow the runners down.

We soon arrived at the 5k/halfway marker and a quick glance at my watch while still feeling ok gave me a bit of confidence that a half decent time could be achieved.

At this stage there was a large sized pack sat behind me but not wanting to slow down I continued to push into the wind knowing that the last couple of miles would be more generous with the wind.

At this stage I was grateful to be joined and passed by training partner to many of us in the group of Andy Teasdale and the two of us ran mainly together for those last 2 miles before Andy pulled away in the last bit.

Crossing the line was it was great to see so many familiar faces racing in this great little event and looking back that was my fastest time I have produced on that course for 6 years and bodes well for the marathon block I am about to go into.

Another great way to start the year and one that the Cleethorpes club executed in organizing excellently.