Race Date Sunday 12th March 2023

Report by Will Hitchmough

Thirsk 10 was a low key affair, with no medals or T-shirt, but some good competition from clubs North of Leeds. 

Communication before the race was questionable, particularly considering the snow and cancellations we had in Sheffield over the weekend. This could be excused since it seemed the snow didn’t make it North of Barnsley judging by the drive up. It was actually quite mild on the day itself. 

I’m currently training for Manchester Marathon and this weekend my training plan prescribed 20 miles with 10 miles at an easy pace followed by 10 miles at target marathon pace. Since I hate running at anything faster than a slow plod on my own and the hills around our end don’t allow for anything more than that, I got creative. 

I arrived 2 hours early, ran the course before the race began on my own and then did the race itself at my target marathon pace. A time of 1:06:55 and gun time of 1:07:36, finishing 161st. 

The course itself was relatively flat (similar to Manchester which I’m preparing for). It goes out on a country lane behind Thirsk Racecourse then comes back on the main road finishing within the grounds of the racecourse. There’s one out and back detour on a rough and ready access road past some farm and industrial land which was smelly, muddy and quite chaotic with runners coming both ways (think Millhouses Park Run but in the middle of nowhere). 

I don’t think I’d do Thirsk10 again, but I can recommend it for anyone wanting a decent prep for Sheffield Half (assuming it’s the same date next year) or for those with a screw loose who want to run the course twice in preparation for a marathon. (Yes I do know that 20mile races exist).

Graham Rush (M40) from Leeds City AC won the men’s race with a time of 49:04 and Faye Birkby (WSen)from Pudsey pacers won the ladies race with a time of 1:00:25. 

One Strider ran