A fortnight after the Toronto half, this was definitely not a goal race. Half and metric marathon are my targeted distances for 2026 and any 10ks I race are for fun. This one was a lot of fun!
It was the tenth anniversary of my first 10k race, completed at this event in 2016, so I was in a celebratory mood. It’s been a long time since I felt so relaxed and pressure-free before a race, and we had a lovely metro ride down to Sunderland with a big group of Benchies who were all doing the event.
The bag drop was in a different place this year, but still not very secure as there’s nobody checking bag tags against numbers when you leave. We did hear after the race that one lady had her bag go missing with her car keys in it, most likely because someone else had taken it by mistake. Just one volunteer doing a check at the door would avoid this!
Caffeine gel and a few stretches before the gun and we were soon away. Sunderland is always a fast start (especially if you find yourself up the front with the fast lads like we did – my chip was only seven seconds after the gun today 😐) so it took a mile or so to settle, but after that it was very enjoyable. I’ve been doing this route most years for a decade now and I know it really well, so it goes quickly. The surprising speed of the km markers ticking over is one of the bonuses of running in miles!
I kept a decent effort up and only really felt myself properly tiring in the last mile or so, at which point I was able to tell myself to keep it up because I was nearly done. I crossed the line in 52:50, which is a little slower than last year’s 10k results but respectable for where I am at the moment.
I had my t-shirt from 2016 ready to change into after the race to go with my 2026 medal! (Sunderland sell t-shirts separately to the race entry nowadays and as I have too many t-shirts already I don’t bother getting them, but it was nice to bookend my souvenirs today.)
Fuelling bonus: my caffeine gel (Kendal Mint citrus) didn’t make me feel sick today. I still wouldn’t trust it as a start line gel for a longer race, but for a 10k it’s good.
That’s the end of my recovery fortnight and tomorrow a new eight-week block begins for my next half (although it’ll just be a streak saver mile and a gentle walk on day 1!). Looking forward to getting into some decent training.