"What a difference a cheer and a high-five makes along the way"

This month we are asking runners to tell us their stories on how they are going further. This month, Angela Graham ran the Vale of York 10 with GoodGym. Here she tells us how it went on the day.

This race is a small local one with a big following. It consistently sells out and you have to get in early (a lesson learned by my hubby who missed out). I chose this race because it fitted with my marathon training programme. I've done a couple of marathons and ultra-marathons but haven't done many shorter races. Training has always been long and lonely and I have struggled to run consistently.

I completed the Yorkshire Marathon in October 2018 20 minutes slower (and 2 stone heavier) than my last marathon and at the end I didn't feel proud of it at all and the one thing you should feel after a marathon is proud. So, I decided I wanted to take things a bit more seriously next time. Part of that was looking at what would keep my motivation up and running with others and doing some events along the way seemed like a good idea.

The one thing you should feel after a marathon is proud

With 11 weeks to go until the St Petersburg White Nights Marathon I lined up with two other GoodGym runners, Ed and Vicky, to tackle the Vale of York 10 mile. I hadn’t seen either of them in a while as I tend to dip in and out of GoodGym but know I am always welcome and today was no different.

With no taper and no rest afterwards, it was meant to just be another long slow run. However, I immediately got whisked up in the excitement at the start of the race. The energy combined with the potential to do a great time due to the flat course made me head out faster than anticipated. The weather was also a big help.

The course is run on closed rural roads and there were a surprising number of fabulous spectators along the way including some GoodGym regulars. What a difference a cheer and a high-five makes along the way. There were mile markers the whole way around and as I got to the 3-mile marker I thought, one parkrun down, only two and a bit to go. Anyone else measure their runs in parkruns?

What a difference a cheer and a high-five makes along the way

I hit half way faster than expected and I was wondering if I had made a big mistake and was heading for a painful second half. It was around this time that Ed sidled up to me (actually giving me a bit of a fright as I had my music on). He had run the first mile or so with Vicky and was now making his way through the field, taking it easy as he is returning from injury. We chatted for a few minutes and Ed’s kind words about my pace lifted my confidence a bit. Apparently, he had been chasing my red hat for quite some time.

Training doesn’t need to be lonely.

I waited for the inevitable tiredness, self-doubt and negative thoughts to start and for my pace to drop off. But there was something different about today and I just kept my legs ticking over and my breathing stable. My pace stayed steady and even picked up a bit over the last few miles. The finish was a blur of people and noise and I finished feeling strong. Ed had come in a few minutes before me and Vicky smashed her PB by 25 minutes.

The Vale of York 10 mile has proved to me that training doesn’t need to be lonely. And I’m even feeling a little proud of my first 10 mile race.

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