Race Date: Friday 3rd July 2026

Asked recently what my next race was, when I replied that it was a 5k, I got a rather derisive “why, when you can do a parkrun for free” but he didn’t seem to appreciate the difference between the chaos that parkrun can be and a well organised, quality, club event. Hosted by Danum Harriers, the July edition of the Donfaster 5k was race number two of a three race series held at the flat, ostensibly fast, Doncaster Cycle Hub. The course is five laps of 960m with a final 200m to make up the distance. Due to the tight bends, gps is unreliable but the course is accurately measured however with the electric clock giving splits every lap. There are two seeded heats, over and under 20 minutes, with results from each race combined to produce the final results.

With the Loxley Lash 5k, part of the Steel City Road Race Championships, only two days beforehand there were still six club members running including a good slug of  M60’s and M65’s. The general consensus was that it was a warm evening although Chris Ireland commented on “…very good conditions this evening ; I have never known such a calm evening in Doncaster.” It’s remarkable how, when going well, athletes can be genuinely unconcerned with conditions as Chris set a new M65 club record, beating the previous mark held jointly with Jed Turner by five seconds.

As for the race itself, there were multiple confessions to having gone off too fast although everyone managed to make a spectacular final hurrah. Jon Smith, happry to run sub 18:30, is recovering from an appendix op finding that he still hasn’t quite got the endurance to maintain his early pace. Jed Turner, racing conservatively due to a calf niggle and needing to be fit for a 4x800m world record attempt that’s coming up, was seen alongside the “trail runner” early on but managed to work his way through the field and finished with 30s for the final run in. With a field made up almost entirely club athletes, for my part, running in heat two, this felt like cross country as a top end M60 before being allowed to join the women’s race as an M65 and worrying that I might finish last. Like many others, this race was run to find out “where I am”. In truth I didn’t like the answer.