It might not quite have the kudos of the London Marathon but the Bolton 10k has some advantages including the complete absence of unfit celebrities and most importantly for me 20 miles less to run. And surely the t-shirts are far more exclusive.
It was all grey drizzle on the M60 but by the time we gathered for the start it was warm and dry. Mike and Stuart joined me in pen 1 which in this case just meant standing in the middle of the road until the traffic stopped.
The leaders set off at a crazy pace and were soon disappearing up the first hill. I could hear Stuart puffing along behind me and sure enough he scampered past on a downhill section. Up ahead I could see Mike moving up into 3rd place.
As the race progressed Stuart and I managed to pull back one of the early leaders and were looking good until a Wrexham V50 cruised past us both in Tom-like style. The hills didn’t seem anywhere near as long as last year which must be a good thing and soon we were chasing back down towards the finish on the athletics track.
We retired to the bar to watch the “other race” on the big screen and congratulate ourselves on choosing the shorter distance. You might remember that this is the race at which Stuart won a 3-man tent last year. This year the prizes were more traditional but I’m pleased to report that the Wilmslow mercenaries made off with a top 10 place trophy each and the team prize at the expense of Horwich and Salford.
3 Michael Halman Wilmslow Running Club 33:14
7 Stuart Parrott V40 2 Wilmslow Running Club 35:02
8 Rob Downs V40 3 Wilmslow Running Club 35:27
1 Wilmslow Running Club 16
3 Michael Halman
6 Stuart Parrott
7 Rob Downs
2 Horwich R M I Harriers 43
11 Ian Selby
12 Steven Nolan
20 Dennis Mason
3 Salford Harriers 45
4 David Lockett
10 Paul Birkett
31 David Shaw
Full results at http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2006/bolton06.htm
Photos at http://www.runningpix.co.uk/roadindexjan-june2006.html