Run > Race

Good run with Dad in his first official race, and he received his first medal.

I have run Billericay twice before and enjoyed it both times, the first time was my PB, the 2nd the great flood edition and this time it was helping Dad to complete his first official 10k.

His preparation had been hampered and so time had become less important, we set out with the lofty goal of 65mins, but after halfway it became apparent this wasn't going to be on. It was then a case of managing our efforts to get us to the finish as quickly and painlessly as possible and I think Dad did a great job of it.

The course was much more undulating than I remembered, there were some winds to contend with and also the course is on managed roads so there is always the stress of cars approaching from both directions so establishing and maintaining a rhythm can be difficult.

Around us there were lots of people setting off too fast, then walking, then haring off again. I was really pleased that we were much more steady particularly through the first 5km. The splits don't quite show it but with the undulations I think our efforts were even, even if our pace was not.

The first km split was even faster than this shows, with it taking us 25 seconds to cross the start line. The race was chip timed but only at the finish and so our official time will be the gun time.

The last couple of km at the end were tough, and the last hill broke us. But we made it to the finish line and even had a little sprint in us for the crowds. Overall a good mornings work and under the 70 minute mark. Well chuffed with Dad's effort and it sounds like we may have another crack at it in 2014.

Split Summary
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1) 0.62m - 6:26(10:21/m) 78cal
2) 0.62m - 6:41(10:46/m) 80cal
3) 0.62m - 6:11(9:57/m) 81cal
4) 0.62m - 6:34(10:34/m) 83cal
5) 0.62m - 6:54(11:06/m) 83cal
6) 0.62m - 6:58(11:12/m) 81cal
7) 0.62m - 7:22(11:51/m) 79cal
8) 0.62m - 7:15(11:39/m) 78cal
9) 0.62m - 7:22(11:52/m) 77cal
10) 0.62m - 7:25(11:57/m) 71cal
11) 0.03m - 15(7:46/m) 4cal