Sunday 25 November 2018

Doncaster 10K


On a somewhat chilly, but thankfully dry Sunday 25th November, six members of Grantham Running Club ventured to ‘Donny’ to take part in the Doncaster 10k Road Race.  

Starting at the racecourse, the course ran through the heart of the town (much to the bemusement of some of the locals).  Part of the route was in an out and back arrangement, so the GRC contingent were able to look out for fellow club mates coming past in the opposite direction, with all the accompanying high fives and shouts of encouragement evoking a great feeling of team spirit. 

Runners then had the thrill of finishing right in front of the main grandstand on the racecourse, with the crowds shouting them down the home straight.  They were all then rewarded for their endeavours with a smart medal, a welcome hot chocolate and a slightly less obvious snack for an athlete, a pork pie.

It was commented upon that the start of the race was very congested due to the narrow routes which meant that those at the back had a relatively slow start.  However, the route was relatively flat which meant a number of GRC members were still able to achieve personal bests and overall the route was fast and favourable.

First back for GRC was Kevin Kettle who was pleased with his new PB of 44:08, beating his previous best, set in June’s Summer Solstice 10K, by nearly a minute. Next was Richard Taylor in a time of 52:28, a minute outside his PB set at Nottingham earlier in the year.
Vicki Ball romped home in a time of 54:11, knocking over 2 minutes off her previous best time. Sylv Hull followed and was pleased to finish her first 10k race in under an hour at 59:27. Rachel Kettle, who came home in 1:03:38, improved on her previous best 10k time by just under a minute. Louise Kennedy was thrilled to produce a PB of 1:06:14, shaving hard-won seconds off her previous best time.

The race, which had over 2400 finishers and was won by Nick Martin in 30:57 with the first woman Emma Ballantine City of York AC home in 36:52, was given a big thumbs up, being very well organised with great support on the street and in the grandstand, plus a good chance to PB.

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