Race Date: Saturday 14th March 2026
A fast 5k anyone? It’s a yes from Steve Cahill who popped down to Leicester to try his luck against some of the best in the country.
Steve ran in Race 2 with races being graduated from (slowest) in race 1 to fastest in race 4 then the elite races. There were about 80 runners in each race.
Here is his report:
After picking up a glute injury in mid-September, I spent the past few months building back my fitness. The Podium 5K was a race I had previously pencilled in, knowing it would sell out quickly, and I was regularly checking to see if entries had opened. A limit of 400 meant the race sold out in just over an hour. Luckily I managed to grab a place and pivoted my training to target the race.
Marketed as Podium Classic, this year’s event appeared to be a slimmed-down version of the previous Podium Festival. The format consisted of six races: four based on personal best times, followed by elite races for men and women. My 2023 PB of 16:57 placed me in Race 2.
I arrived in good time, which allowed for a toilet visit and a warm-up, including a lap of the course to familiarise myself before Race 1 began. I then changed into my race-day shoes, completed some final drills and strides, and headed to the start line 10 minutes before the race.
Around 80 runners were tightly packed on the start line. When the race began, space was limited, and I found the first lap mentally challenging because of the crowded conditions.
My Garmin recorded the first kilometre in 3:18. This was only a minor concern, as I often start quickly before settling into pace. During the second lap, I found myself at the back of a group that was gradually drifting ahead. As the lap unfolded, I became aware of a breeze that had not been apparent while running in the larger pack. The second kilometre came in at 3:28.
By the third lap, I recalled what racing a 5K feels like. You push yourself to the point where you are either hanging on or feeling strong enough to attack the closing stages. On this occasion, it was definitely the former rather than the latter. I glanced at the clock at 3km and saw 10:20, equivalent to a 3:34 kilometre. At that point, I knew a PB was out of reach, but a secondary goal of sub-17:30 still seemed possible. I managed to grind out the final two kilometres at 3:35 pace to finish in a chip time of 17:30.2.
Initially, I felt I would have liked to be slightly quicker. That is probably true after 95% of races, though. Given that I had nearly two months out, needed time to rebuild, and this was my first real opportunity to test myself again, it was a good result. There is still work to do, but at least I am racing close to my best again.
Sadly, I was the only Strider at the event, so after a cool-down and a brief chat with a couple of Hillsborough runners, I left before the elite races started. I did watch them later, however, as all races were streamed live on the Sportsshoes YouTube channel.
I would certainly recommend the event to anyone targeting a fast sub-21-minute 5K, particularly if your training is going well and you are close to PB shape. Just be ready to sign up quickly when entries open.
The fastest time of the day was Matthew Ramsden of Blackburn Harriers in 13.33.5 (they time to the tenth of a second!). The fastest female was Elise Vanderelst of CABW in 15.40.00.
Striders Result:
