Race date: Saturday 9th November 2024

Following the completion of the remaining Parkrun Cup first round fixtures at Concord on Saturday morning, I, accompanied by my chief chauffeur/navigator/supporter Ellie, made our way to the Barrowfield Cycle Circuit for Podium 5k.

A few months ago I decided I would like to have a proper go at running under 16 minutes for the 5k this year having got unexpectedly close to going under 16 minutes on the track during the summer.

Some of you might be thinking ‘Well didn’t he run under 16 minutes drug free in Berlin earlier in the year?’ Unofficially, I did, but the course was short by my watch and everyone I spoke to! So I thought I would search for a more accurately measured and flat 5k course.

Podium 5k was suggested as an ideal place to run fast in a much stronger field than other 5ks. The event was also celebrating their 10th anniversary event and there could be some decent goodies on offer.

When I entered this event late in the summer I thought I was in fine form. However, after my mediocre showing at the Northern Road Relays, I was less confident about running quickly (well, for me!). This would give me around 5 weeks to train properly for this event. In past years (like in 2023) I would have raced multiple times over this period. However, this year I have been far more focused on achieving specific goals and only ran half the number of races I completed in 2023. This is my 23rd race of the year and I entered 40 races in 2023. Also, once this race was done I could get straight back to the delights of cross country!

I felt like my training block had gone off without a hitch (perhaps, not spectacular though!), but I wasn’t sure I would be able to run the time I was striving for this target race. During key sessions, I was not able to hold the pace required to run under 16 minutes, especially during kilometre rep speed sessions. However, I often struggle in training sessions and it takes competing in a race to provide the motivation for me to run my best.

We arrived at the Steven Burke Sport Hub a couple of hours before my race and even before the first race had started! I went over to the registration tent and picked up my number. The main thing I was hoping for was some safety pins as I had lost all of my safety pins – I was thankful when looking through the race pack there were some enclosed. At this time the organisers were still finishing the setup of the race area and other sponsored tents.

Podium setup before the light faded

I went for a warm-up and ended up going along the canal next to the park as it was still light out. The first Open Race was now coming to its conclusion and then I bumped into Ewan (aka The Dental Athlete) to join him on the final bit of his warm-up. He had the same target of going under 16 minutes, which I thought he would comfortably do! We now had a good hour to wait before the sub 16 race, as there were the sub 18:30 and sub 17:00 races off at 4.30 and 5pm. The atmosphere was building nicely under the lights and so was the coffee cart queue!

After doing a few strides I changed into my vest and race shoes and then moved over to the start. The race organiser recapped the prize pot for the elite women in the race – this included the likes of Hannah Nuttall and Jess Bailey.

The race consisted of 4 and ¾ laps of the circuit as the start and the finish were in different places. In the first 50 metres or so the race was incredibly compact with people jostling for the best position and line. The race pack tightened as we got to the opening bend and people were forced onto the grass. I was on the outside so didn’t have the best line. By the time we went through the finish line for the first time, groups had started to spread a little.

As we approached kilometre 1 the race organiser was calling out K splits. I remember hearing him say ‘3.10’ just as I came through. My watch vibrated at the same time so he was spot on (as expected!). To be honest with you working in Ks is pretty alien to me. But, running 3.10s all the way would get me there…

Already working hard! (Photo credit: Banners Running Snaps)

In the second lap, I dropped behind Ewan and then waited until lap 3 to try to push on. The atmosphere was impressive across the whole course and it helped massively that I was just ahead of the 3rd female (Megan) pretty much the whole way! I heard Ellie on lap 3 (I think) shout my name just before the bend of the track again. The end of the third lap was a bit of a blur but I couldn’t follow the split times being called out now. As the fourth lap went by I heard the loud shoes of Ewan come flying past. His pace I could not match but I used him as a marker for the final lap.

The bell for the final lap rang out and I saw about 12.40 on the timing screen so I knew sub 16 was still on. I was hurting now! Then the next voice I heard was ‘800 metres to go!’ That’s when everyone around me started to charge and I didn’t have much left to muster a sprint in the final 400 metres. But just as I was closing in on the finish line I looked up and saw 15.48 on the screen. Yes, I made it!

I was bowed over a few metres beyond the finish line and then felt a pat on the back from Jeff, a Trafford AC runner, who I had been racing all summer long in the Northern League. We had a mini race chat and went our separate ways and I walked back around to the start to meet Ellie. I was overjoyed with my performance. I saw Ewan again and congratulated him on his PB too and then went to the car to change my shoes and grab my Striders hoodie.

Ellie passed me an Adidas branded muffin that she had saved for me and I went over to the Adidas tent to look at the merchandise. I was presented with an oversized (XL) anniversary t-shirt and told to wear this shirt to bed! We stayed on to watch the final races of the night – sub 15 and elite sub 14:30, which featured some big hitters such as Phil Sesemann and Ben Connor.

Podium was a fantastic evening and made better under the lights. I highly recommend having a crack if you’re after a flat 5k race combined with a strong field of runners to push you on to a quick time.

The men’s race was won by Robin Hendrix (Adidas Belgium) in a time of 13:35 and the women’s race was won by Hannah Nuttall (Charnwood AC) who finished in 15:18. 349 runners completed the races altogether.

The photographer just missed me crossing the line… (Photo credit: Will Bowran)

Striders result: