Hartlepool Marina 5 mile
Emma Walton posts this report...
Now before I start this article I would like to say that due to the respect that I have for our club chairman, Mr Terry O'Gara, at no point through this article will I refer to the fact that I actually beat Terry in the race today........I wouldn't even dream of mentioning it...now that I have that off my chest I will begin.
We ventured down to Hartlepool for the main reason that this was the Veterans Athletic Association North East of England 5 mile Championship Race (and a little internal Wallsend race that I have been waiting patiently for..Walton vs O'Gara)
Terry and I were accompanied by our fantastic supporter and official photographer Bill Todd. When we arrived, just as in Newcastle, it was a pretty strong wind that greeted us which seemed to be one of those that no matter which direction you were running in it was never behind you! After collecting our numbers (during which I managed to cause a kerfuffle without meaning to...which resulted in Terry giving me some supportive words along the lines of 'we can't take you women anywhere' (that is the polite version)) we went for a warm up run to check out the wind and the course.
The course was flat and on a good day would result in a fast time...the wind was indeed very strong especially on the home straight when you had to battle to keep going.
We headed to the start and lined up alongside the brilliant Ricky Stevenson...now Terry had advised me at the beginning to run my own race, to not think too much about him or where he was and not to go out too hard.....yeah right...this is the man who tells you that a course with a mountain in it is flat...I promptly took no notice of him. Once the gun went we were off and I immediately lost sight of Mr O'Gara - the sly dog. After a couple of minutes he suddenly appeared about 20m ahead of me...I managed to get up behind him and thought to myself that I could either a) sit behind him for the next 4.5 miles and try and out sprint him at the finish or b) listen to the advice of Vicky and just go as hard as I could to get in front of him and then hang on for dear life...I went for option b!! As the course was out and back there were a couple of points were I could survey the field and check out the TOGmeister....luckily I managed to keep him behind me.
As we reached the final 500m we hit the strong wind and I felt that we were running on the spot at times – the only thing that kept me going was the thought of hearing the pitter patter of Terry's feet come alongside me so I put my head down and went for it and and for the first time ever (and boy will I not let him forget it) I managed to take the scalp of our club chairman finishing the race in 34.04 (closely followed by Terry clocking 34.21)!
...Anyway the duel in the sun (and wind of Hartlepool) resulted in both Terry and I picking up Gold medals (woo hoo) in the VAANEE championships and thanks to Terry trying to chase me down he has now bagged the 5th fastest time for 5 miles in the V65 category in UK this year – joking apart that is an amazing achievement – well done Terry!
Now a final mention has to go to Bill – thank you so much for coming along and giving us support - you deserve a medal for putting up with the pair of us there and back in the car!
P.S Unfortunately I am away with work this week so won't be able to come to the club on Tuesday night...gutted...so this is a plea to all the ladies please give Terry as much grief as is humanely (or inhumanely) possible for this!!
P.P.S Did I mention that I beat Terry in a race today!
General News
Other Categories
| Category | Articles |
|---|---|
| General News | 114 |
| Race Results | 23 |
| Club Championship | 2 |
| Winter Grand Prix | 12 |
| Wallsend 10k Road Race | 9 |
| Social | 1 |
| NE Harrier League | 13 |
| Summer Grand Prix | 12 |
