Club Series vs Stockport 10

"Who have you come as?"

These were the immortal words that I was greeted with by Rob Jackson as I arrived on the start line for today's Stockport 10 (miler). As the mental cogs whirred, I deduced that this was a continuation of Rob's psychological war-gaming which had started at Friday night's Christmas Party. It was, no doubt, designed to throw me off mentally right before the start of the last race of the Series - at a point where we were both tied in the 3rd place position in the overall standings. I could only assume that this barbed comment was in reference to the timelessly stylish arm warmers and vest combo that I was sporting, and so it seemed appropriate to reply "Kipchoge". (Elucid being a notable wearer of the arm warmers and vest combo, and a gentleman of immense sartorial elegance in all situations, in my humble opinion.) This immensely witty riposte (in my humble opinion) thus immediately restored my precarious mental balance, something which was in great danger of being unsettled by this unexpected last-minute exchange. I then noticed Rob's shorts. These were a) off-white knee-length board shorts, and b) covered in paint - it goes without saying that, arm warmers aside, I had clearly and unequivocally won any style points available today, regardless of what happened in the actual racing. And style points are obviously what matter the most. Our duel could commence, minds now focused squarely on race tactics. Having heard literally nothing over the PA system with regards to a welcome or safety briefing(?!) we were almost immediately off! More on that particular race-within-a-race later!

Those that ran this course last year will remember a glorious late season high-pressure day with the sun out in force and not a cloud in the sky. Not so this year! No, no, no. Today was a wet one. Think: rain oscillating endlessly between light and heavy, slippery leaf mulch everywhere, and puddles galore across the farm land. It was one of those days where champions are hewn from solid rock and significant mental strength is called upon to keep on pushing through to the line. I'm sure a few photos will circulate on the social channels to give you a good flavour of the conditions. It was a rush to get back to the car post-race, just to get warm again.

By my count, 17 club mates finished the race today, with some notable individual performances and some very fine times. Richard Coen (MV45), Trevor Faulkner (MV80) and Nicky Mowat (FV65) all finished 1st in their age categories and there were 'top 3' age category finishes from Frances Kenny (FV40), Louisa Harrison (FV45), and John Porteous (MV70). Richard Harrison (MV50) and Diane Bygrave (FV45) both narrowly missed out on top 3 age category finishes coming 4th and 5th in their respective categories. Fantastic running from everyone! Particular kudos to Richard Coen for his position of 8th overall, in a time of 55 mins 8 seconds!

Returning to Rob and I, I'm pleased to say that the best man won on the day, but I'm sad to say that it was not me! :-) Kudos to Rob for making it a fine duel and a great race to bring the series to a close for me. I managed to mark him throughout, and used him to 'take the wind' by running behind him for almost the entire 10 miles(!) but come the sprint finish it just wasn't to be. With 200m to go, we both switched on the after-burners and gave the crowd something to cheer about, but Rob had an extra gear that I didn't have. We finished 5 seconds apart, and I think that means Rob takes 3rd in the Series overall. We are looking forward to seeing the final results table!

I'm sure there have been other 'races-within-races' happening throughout the year which we don't know about. Feel free to get in touch in about writing a report/story of your own - it would be a pleasure to publish it.

Full results from today, here.

Lastly, huge thanks to everyone involved in organising the Club Series this year. Jan, Ian, Elspeth, and Richard particularly, and my apologies to anyone else whose name escapes me as I write. It has been brilliant. Looking forward to more of the same next year!