Templeton 10 mile Road Race

Templeton 10 mile Road Race

72/254 in 1hr 18min

Won in 58min 05 sec



The Templeton 10 mile road race is run by a local running club Dundee Road Runners. The tag line for the race seems to be "Hills, what hills? "

10 years together and running 10 miles. Romance.

The route takes you on a circuit through the Sidlaws on country roads in a clockwise direction from templeton through Droney and onto Kirkton of Auchterhouse then back through strathmartin and then back to templeton, finishing at Clatto.

10 miles eh, should be easy eh? No. With the hills and the wind it was a tough, but not hellish course that rewarded you with views you just don't get anywhere else.

Anna and myself set off at 9:30 via Tesco (with this sort of exertion we were having a roast dinner after). As with the other club races I've been to there were loads of marshalls to help you get parked and find registration etc. From there it was a 1 mile walk along from Clatto to the start line which was at the 9 mile mark.

Since the Round Ripon Ultra I haven't been able to use my Garmin as I've lost my charger. Without it I've been enjoying my runs a little more. But, I was nervous that at a race I wouldn't be able to pace myself properly. I haven't run 10 miles as a hard run for a while. I used to run it regularly when training for my first marathon and did it in 1hr 30mins. I wanted to run quicker than that dispite the course being hillier. I didn't know how much quicker to run though. I decided to try and aim for an average of 8 minute miles and go for 1hr 20 mins., the ease of 10 mile maths is wonderful.

As we got to the start line I was wishing I'd brought a bottle with me or had a drink before leaving my bag at the finish. We arrived a few minutes before the race briefing but couldn't hear anything at the back.  Then without much fan fare we were off. The pace at the back was a little frustrating so I tried to make my way through the masses without being 'that guy'. By the first turn I realised that we were doing the route in reverse to what I thought it would be. Anna and I had recced the middle 8 miles a week before and during that run we were glad we didn't have to go up the Auchterhouse hill. Not so this time. Either way it was largely uphill for the first 5 miles then down for 4 and up for the last 1.

At the start

I'm familiar with this area and have run or cycled the area for the last year and really enjoy the scenery, dispite it being a little lumpy. The views offered for being so close to the city centre are remarkable.

Great views

more views

Back to the race and by the 1st mile marker the pack had thinned out a little and we were able to run freely. Every so often I asked a  runner with a garmin what pace we were doing. At mile one it was 8:20 per mile pace so I tried to speed up a little without building up any lactic acid. That was going to be my theme for the first 5 miles. run until I felt I was going too deep and then easing off.

With a course as up and down as this one it's really interesting to see where peoples strengths lie. I seemed to be stronger on the downs than the ups in the first half but this changed in the second half when I wasn't holding back on the ups and my quads were sore on the downs.


The First big hill

I yo-yo'd a few people saying hello when I could. The long up towards Kirkton of Auchterhouse was hard but the one out of it is just brutal, being shorter but much steeper. Thankfully we made a right turn and got a great tale wind towards the drink station at mile 5. At the water station, I didn't take much and spilt most of it but what did make it to my mouth was pure bliss. Surely that has to be a huge skill of athletics. If you have mastered the cup drink while running I salute you.



Going up past Auchterhouse

 

On this straight it was another pace check so I pulled up along someone and sure enough they were wearing a garmin and we were doing a remarkable 7:30 mile. Aren't tail winds great, I felt like I was flying. No wonder Mo Farah's always smiling. The question was could I keep this up? I was beginning to doubt it. On one of the downs I was caught by someone, luckily we turned into a head wind and I caught her again. We had been passing each other fairly consistently. We struck up a conversation and I asked what time she was aiming for. She said 1hr 25minutes. I really wanted to ask if she was on target as I had no idea what time we were heading for but I thought that was too cheeky. After a little inner contemplation I though I should give it all I had left and make sure I didn't finish with anything left. During that time we came onto a stretch of road that I did my long runs on while training for Ripon. I told myself that I can run home from hear so I should be working harder than I am.

Photo courtesy of  Stealthy's Shonky Snaps
The last hill 

With that I decided to try and catch the people in front then keep picking people off. This  tactic seems to work as it forces you to keep up the pace on the hills. The last one was really tough but the 9 mile marker came and all that was left was to turn into templeton and aim for Clatto. Coming out of the woods I was feeling a bit sick but managed a wee sprint to the finish line.



Photo courtesy of Chris Martin
The last push and feeling sick

The timer showed 1hr 18min. Surely not. I rechecked the time again once I got my breath and even then it was just turning 1hr20min. From then on I was beaming. I was so happy I couldn't get the grin off my face. The smile only increased when I entered the catering tent and saw the feast that awaited us. It was so big it didn't fit into one shot.



What a great feast

I met Emma (I remembered to ask this time) who I had yo yo'd for most of the race and she was pleased with her time and had come up from London for the race. She must have heard about the hills and the post race feast.

While chatting to her Anna stormed in smashing her target and finishing in 1hr 27min. We were both chuffed. The goodie bag included a great embroidered Towel, some gluco tabs and some gels. It was the most impressive swag bag I've had. Plus you got some water and a banana when you finished.

The organisation of this event was second to none. Loads of marshalls, clear signs, a great atmosphere and nice informal finish with enough food to feed an army. A Big thank you to everyone that helped out.

Anna and I at the finish

Anna and I spent the rest  of the day glowing with our times and eating everything in sight. The results were posted that night and there are some fast runners. The event was won in under 60 mins and  from the event photo's it looks like the winner might of had a broken arm.

That is both amazing and mental.

Next up for me is the frost bite series which I'm looking forward to. I think I might stick to running without a watch for shorter races, or running naked as it's called on twitter. Anyone else had a good experience leaving the watch at home?

I've also signed up to the Cateran trail Ultra, which is a 55 mile race around Angus and Perth in May.

Please feel free to follow me on twitter @HendriePaul or Instagram HendriePaul for updates on when I post a new blog :)

Thanks for reading

Woop Woop

 

Not of the race. Just a great photo of a great city.