The South Shields 10 Mile has been on my race bucket list for a long time. Probably since before I did my first North Tyneside 10k in 2021, because I remember I used to get them mixed up. I’m trying to do more new-to-me local races at the moment rather than the same old ones every year, so I decided to make 2026 the year. This was well timed, as it turned out to be the 10th anniversary edition of the race.
Quite a few Benchies had the same idea, so we had a good turnout.
I was hoping for a big 10 mile PB, as I hadn’t raced the distance since the Yorkshire 10 Mile in 2018. I was talking about it with Geth beforehand, and I reckon that on current form, I could do about 1:30 on a flat road course. I knew the South Shields course wasn’t a flat road course, but I didn’t expect it to be quite as ‘interesting’ as it was! The first mile or so is a traily section across grass and through brambles, with lots of single-file paths that slow everyone down. After that follows a couple of big laps of the chalky gravel/grassy paths that feature on the South Shields parkrun course (including some precarious steps that I don’t recall being part of the parkrun) and a semi-respite along the tarmac as you run the last mile of the GNR in reverse. (I never realised the last mile of the GNR was downhill before!) After the second lap there’s a final stretch back along the tarmac then onto the grass again to finish at Souter Lighthouse. There were quite a few points where I wondered what on earth I was doing there in my carbons, but I was glad of them on the tarmac sections!
I finished in 1:38:08. Nine-minute PB, and I was pretty pleased with that on a tough course. It gives me a good benchmark for when I return to the Yorkshire 10 Mile in autumn 2027!
Back to it with the metric marathon training, then. Next B-race is the GNR in just under six weeks’ time… I’ll try and remember to feel the downhill during mile 13 now I know it’s there!