Marlow 5k
9:31am, 10th Jul 2024 | Thames Valley 5k series - Marlow | 1 Comments
Blog by stevieg
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Race 5 of the local club summer series, and my 2nd event.
Literally doubled my value having paid £10 for the series entry. Buttons really and great value if you do 2 or more races.
My first club Marlow Striders put this one on and it was a club champs race for my most recent old club Datchet.
So a strange setting of knowing loads at 3 different clubs as well as a few at others too.
I don't mind the odd totally incognito random race miles away, but some with loads of pals is great too.
The weather in keeping with this summer so far was pretty miserable, wet and overcast, so the slight concern was how the last km with the majority on grass might churn up and be slippy.
Took a couple of shoe options in case it wouldn't take the Vapors.
It's "Marlow" in name, but actually Hurley, so a bit further out, but still an easy 20min drive. Just had to get the timings of eating etc right, as I'm very used to the 6pm Friday track, but this is a 7.30pm job.
Had plenty of work stuff and an appraisal to get through in the day to take my mind off the usual stewing, plus a 3mile pootle to take the edge off early morning too.
Comfortable arrival and park-up and quickly found all sorts of people to chat to. Had a 1.5miler with 2 of my current clubmates, but left it at that, very humid, sweat falling off me. The end bit looked ok ish, grass quite long and not the firmest or driest, but would be ok, just hope you're not in a furious race by then. But then I haven't had a proper battle for position late on for ages now!
Proper start line wheeled out, but everyone is strictly staying far left and outside it, as the right hand side has thick long dodgy looking grass to deal with.
Guy on the mic seems to take ages to get on with it - although a decent tribute to the late Marlow guy I went to the funeral of a few weeks ago was well deserved. It was the other chat - must be a parkrun chairman or something!
We're off then...loads of Dashers on their club champs and we're out decently.
My Bramley 20 pal has stormed off and looks in great nick, but I won't worry too much about anyone else.
Grass and stoney stuff for 3/4km, then we're into the best bit of the course, lovely smooth road down Shepherds Lane for a 1.5mile loop, then same 1/2mile back down it again.
I'm comfy to see a 3.29xx first km, then a 3.34xx second km.
I'm in and around top 10 and it's feeling alright. I've got an old club mate Bradders near me. He was best on scene level at his best, 1hr 10/11 sort of half and 2nd in the Maidy 10miler at his peak. Struggles with injuries and colds quite a bit, but tends to get into decent shape around this time every year.
3rd km is 3.31xx. Feeling a bit hard, but I realise this is exactly the 5k feeling you want.
Not long after, Bradders has totally eased off - disappeared backwards. That confuses me a bit but I press on, not far behind a Maidenhead guy. Another V50 Maidenhead guy has gone past, a guy who was really sharp at his best but I've beaten in recent years - not to worry.
Back down the same 1/2mile we'd done earlier then by now, 4th km is 3.34xx, still ok, not dropping too much at all really between these.
Certainly better than the 18.22 Maidenhead 5k where splits were all over the place and in the 3.40s at time - albeit very obviously a slow course!
We're now into the 5th km and approaching the turny and grassy bit.
I'm just behind a Maidenhead guy but as per usual I'm happy to keep myself consistent and not worry too much about risking an overtake and blow up.
Happy to get over the line with a 3.44xx for
17.53
I realise now looking at these splits that the 5th km was measured 0.64m and a few of the others 0.61m, so maybe it wasn't that much slower a km actually as first thought!
All in all felt a proper good run out after a couple of solid efforts at odd distance/terrain Penn 7 and Misbourne 10k.
Similar to the 17.47 at Hyde Park in Feb, so hopefully I'm in touching distance of beating that in the 5k races all on flat road in the near future
Literally doubled my value having paid £10 for the series entry. Buttons really and great value if you do 2 or more races.
My first club Marlow Striders put this one on and it was a club champs race for my most recent old club Datchet.
So a strange setting of knowing loads at 3 different clubs as well as a few at others too.
I don't mind the odd totally incognito random race miles away, but some with loads of pals is great too.
The weather in keeping with this summer so far was pretty miserable, wet and overcast, so the slight concern was how the last km with the majority on grass might churn up and be slippy.
Took a couple of shoe options in case it wouldn't take the Vapors.
It's "Marlow" in name, but actually Hurley, so a bit further out, but still an easy 20min drive. Just had to get the timings of eating etc right, as I'm very used to the 6pm Friday track, but this is a 7.30pm job.
Had plenty of work stuff and an appraisal to get through in the day to take my mind off the usual stewing, plus a 3mile pootle to take the edge off early morning too.
Comfortable arrival and park-up and quickly found all sorts of people to chat to. Had a 1.5miler with 2 of my current clubmates, but left it at that, very humid, sweat falling off me. The end bit looked ok ish, grass quite long and not the firmest or driest, but would be ok, just hope you're not in a furious race by then. But then I haven't had a proper battle for position late on for ages now!
Proper start line wheeled out, but everyone is strictly staying far left and outside it, as the right hand side has thick long dodgy looking grass to deal with.
Guy on the mic seems to take ages to get on with it - although a decent tribute to the late Marlow guy I went to the funeral of a few weeks ago was well deserved. It was the other chat - must be a parkrun chairman or something!
We're off then...loads of Dashers on their club champs and we're out decently.
My Bramley 20 pal has stormed off and looks in great nick, but I won't worry too much about anyone else.
Grass and stoney stuff for 3/4km, then we're into the best bit of the course, lovely smooth road down Shepherds Lane for a 1.5mile loop, then same 1/2mile back down it again.
I'm comfy to see a 3.29xx first km, then a 3.34xx second km.
I'm in and around top 10 and it's feeling alright. I've got an old club mate Bradders near me. He was best on scene level at his best, 1hr 10/11 sort of half and 2nd in the Maidy 10miler at his peak. Struggles with injuries and colds quite a bit, but tends to get into decent shape around this time every year.
3rd km is 3.31xx. Feeling a bit hard, but I realise this is exactly the 5k feeling you want.
Not long after, Bradders has totally eased off - disappeared backwards. That confuses me a bit but I press on, not far behind a Maidenhead guy. Another V50 Maidenhead guy has gone past, a guy who was really sharp at his best but I've beaten in recent years - not to worry.
Back down the same 1/2mile we'd done earlier then by now, 4th km is 3.34xx, still ok, not dropping too much at all really between these.
Certainly better than the 18.22 Maidenhead 5k where splits were all over the place and in the 3.40s at time - albeit very obviously a slow course!
We're now into the 5th km and approaching the turny and grassy bit.
I'm just behind a Maidenhead guy but as per usual I'm happy to keep myself consistent and not worry too much about risking an overtake and blow up.
Happy to get over the line with a 3.44xx for
17.53
I realise now looking at these splits that the 5th km was measured 0.64m and a few of the others 0.61m, so maybe it wasn't that much slower a km actually as first thought!
All in all felt a proper good run out after a couple of solid efforts at odd distance/terrain Penn 7 and Misbourne 10k.
Similar to the 17.47 at Hyde Park in Feb, so hopefully I'm in touching distance of beating that in the 5k races all on flat road in the near future
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