Crouch End 10K 2011

In a way the Crouch End 10K is my home-town race, where everybody knows my name. Well not quite but there is a picture of me, from last year, displayed prominently on the race information page; so I must be doing something right! Actually in 2010 Joshua also ran because the festival hosts a variety of kids races, as well as the 10K, but this weekend he's been very under the weather - probably because Christina has chicken pox and his immune system has been fighting off the virus. So at around 9:30 this morning I warmed-up by jogging down to Priory Park where all the action takes place and arrived just in time for a quick stretch before jumping over the barriers adjacent to the start line.

Hitting the finish line in 2010

Last year I was quite surprised that the route didn't take us over the top of Alexandra Palace, as I was hoping that the hill might act as something of a trump card for me, so this year I knew what to expect. Essentially a fast pace from the gun, two up-and-down laps and then a sprint to the finish! When the horn went I was probably in the first twenty or so competitors and that seemed about right as a couple of groups quickly formed while two super-quick guys broke free at the front (given that they ran sub-35 we didn't see them again!). Despite them getting away my preconceptions were fully realised by a 3:40 first kilometre and a 3:34 second kilometre; this is not a pace that I'm familiar with but I hung in there and when we came up by Alexandra Palace Railway Station the speed slackened by 10-15 seconds per kilometre. This came as a welcome relief but still the field started to thin out - the initial canter claiming a number of victims.

As we performed a u-turn over the railway bridge and entered Alexandra Palace Park suddenly an unwelcome visitor joined the party - a vicious and gusting headwind. Now there aren't many things more demoralising than a sapping breeze so I sensibly tucked in behind my fellow runner; he was setting a strong tempo and I didn't feel able to break away. So we trotted along together and entered the second lap; at which point two things happened. We spotted the guy ahead of us by maybe 10 seconds and we gained a tailwind - so our speed leaped up and we completed the sixth kilometre in 3:36! Talk about flying along! Even so neither of us could get free of the other, even when we suffered up the station approach, and as we once again entered Alexandra Palace Park a young man drew alongside.

With under three kilometres to go this changed the whole dynamic of the race; suddenly both of us were forced to raise our game to meet this unexpected challenge. By sheer force of will I managed to get behind this young buck, and stay with him, but the effort required cost me a great deal. We were still a long way from the finish and every step felt harder than the last. Even so all three of us remained neck and neck up to the nine kilometre mark but a hundred metres further on, as the other two drew inexorably away, I knew that I had reached my physical limit. My lungs could draw no more oxygen from the air and there wasn't a damn thing that I could do about it!

Over that last 800-900 metres then I concentrated on not blowing up, on not getting caught by anyone else from behind and on getting to the finish. That said I still covered the last kilometre in 3:42 but as the course looped around the perimeter of Priory Park I felt anything but fast - desperate more like. So I checked behind me a couple of times (no one there fortunately) and kept myself moving. This year the family came to see me suffer finish but I didn't see or hear them; all I wanted was the double-beep of the timing mat and the chance to breath freely again. In the end I hit the line in 38:12 (although the results show 38:25 for some reason) and that was quick enough for 12th (out of a thousand finishers). Okay I was still only 4th V40, and so nowhere near the medals, but I'm not a miracle worker (and given the fact that The Rapture didn't happen last night it seems I'm not the only one!).

Distance: 8.4 miles

Time: 56m 39s