Hatfield Broad Oak 10k

The Hatfield Broad Oak (HBO) 10k has become something of a tradition in our running calendar. This year is our third consecutive HBO 10k and the events 30th anniversary so it promised to be a good one. I was feeling the effects of running 10 km of hills on Saturday and had a really bad flare up of patellofemoral dysfunction (or runners knee as it's more commonly known) which seems to have been aggravated by the marathon a week ago. I decided to give the kinesiology tape a go to see if it could help my kneecap correctly track and reduce the irritation as I ran. My shin pain seemed to be back again so I also applied some tape to just my left shin. I worked out that it had taken £5 worth of KT tape to get me in some sort of shape to run, probably not wise or sustainable. I think following this run I may have to give some thought to recovery and treating old injuries.

Paul and I pre-race

We arrived well ahead of the race to get a parked and beat the road closures. The morning whilst starting off bright turned overcast and quite cold, not like previous years when the sun has almost made it too hot for running. We met up with our fellow Um Bongo team members Chris and Alec as well as a few of the guys from the Hatfield Forest parkrun. There was quite a bit of excitement and anticipation around the t-shirt design and medal as it was the 30th anniversary celebrations. We found the tent where the t-shirts would be handed out at the end and asked if we could get a sneak preview. They were grey much to my surprise or as Paul described them 'Gandalf' grey! When we asked about the medals we were told that they were only being handed out for the kiddies fun run. It was a bit of a shame as there had been some discussion on the HBO 10k social media pages about the race having a special finishers medal and t-shirt to celebrate the 30th anniversary. It didn't bother me too much but I felt sorry for those who may have been running their first 10k and had been expecting a medal for their efforts.

Team Um Bongo

The event had changed from previous years, the race HQ was at the school and the runners facilities were on the village green which made it a lot spacious. The course was a reverse loop starting and finishing on the high street which made it a lot better for both the runners and spectators. I'd heard rumours from other runners who had tested the route that they thought the new route was 5 minutes slower than the previous course.

The race was due to start at 11 am so we made our way to the start line. The field was split into predicted finish intervals, Paul and I were going to run together so placed ourselves in the 55 minute area expecting a gentle run. I am not sure I heard the starting gun but the crowd of runners started to surge forward so I knew that we'd soon be crossing the start line. The first couple of kilometres seemed very crowded and bunched to me, we spent much of the time dodging other runners and trying to pass people who had already stopped to walk. There was also a little elevation but nothing compared to what we had experienced during the Dark Ox a couple of days previously. Soon after we were able to settle into a steady rhythm, I wasn't looking at my watch to keep an eye on my pace, I was just running to what felt comfortable.

Just before the start

The Um Bongo vests were getting a lot of attention. At one point a kid shouted at me "GO HIPPOPOTAMUS!" now I know I am carrying a extra few pounds but... oh wait I forget there is a great big pink hippo on the back of the race vest! It was really nice, Paul and I hadn't invited anyone to come along and support us but we felt like we had our own fan club. The vests never fail to make people smile and lots of people comment and encourage us as we're running.

At the 5 km point Paul was unleashed and stretched his legs and ran off ahead. The field was a little more spread out now so I wasn't feeling quite as cramped. I was conscious that I didn't want to let the pace dip once I was running on my own. The scenery on the route was really quite pleasant, all of the race was on closed roads around the village of Hatfield Broad Oak. My painful knee was more or less a feature of the entire race and even though strapped with KT tape there didn't seem to be any relief. At around 7 km the arch of my right foot began to ache, this was a new one! Kilometres 6-9 were really consistent with only 3 seconds difference in the pacing. For the final kilometre I decided to begin to pick up the pace. I had been running on and off with a girl for most of the race so I kept her in my sight and made sure I kept up.

We turned onto the road back into the village which I recognised from when we drove in and I knew it wasn't far to go. One of the marshals shouted "final kilometre" which had got my hopes up but I didn't recall seeing the 9 km marker. We were still about a minute away from the 9 km marker! Luckily I hadn't sped up too much. I was quite impressed with my pace at this stage, I was not feeling too laboured and seemed to be over taking a lot of other runners. We turned onto the high street and I could see the finish line so opened up and sprinted overtaking about 12 people in the finishing funnel (which probably not very sporting of me). I finished with the official time of 53:45, almost exactly a minute slower than my efforts at the Flitch Way 10k in April and approximately 2 and a half minutes slower than my 2014 HBO time. I wasn't too disappointed though, I knew I had injuries which were perhaps holding me back and I had managed my expectations to accept that it was unlikely to be a PB day.

Happy finishers

From the finish line we queued to get back onto the village green. It was quite a long wait before we were able to get our t-shirt, it was no improvement on when the finish was by the village hall and meant standing around and getting cold. Paul, Chris and Alec had also finished so we regrouped and chatted to various people that we'd spotted. Despite having run the first 5 km with me, Paul managed to catch up with Alec and got him home in a sub 50. Chris finished about a minute ahead of me with a time of 52:37. It just goes to show how challenging the Dark Ox 10k was as we were 20 minutes faster at HBO just 2 days later! We went back to the car to get something warm to put on and went for a wander and our tradition of a post race ice cream.

Post race 99

Afterwards it was back to Chris' for a BBQ. Unfortunately the weather did not improve so we ended up sitting indoors to keep warm! I had made my BBQ speciality of guacamole and halloumi and vegetable skewers with a lemon, mint and chilli dressing. Chris had got us veggies some onion bhaji burgers which made for a strangely enjoyable combo with cheese, BBQ sauce and brioche bun! We ate a stupid amount of food and there was still plenty left over. We had a really nice afternoon with friends old and new chatting about running and various stuff.

There are moments in life that define you as a person. Likewise, in running there are moments that define who you are as a runner. I should have really enjoyed the race today, it's usually the highlight of my running year however I couldn't help but feel like something wasn't quite right. It may have been that I was injured and sulking but I had accepted earlier that I would run within my current limits. I very much feel like I have had the realisation that I am happiest when running in a small field of runners along the trail. Busy road races, regardless of how flat or fast they are supposed to be just do not do it for me! I think I am a trail runner...

Team Um Bongo does the Flitch Way 10k

I was pretty excited when I heard that Challenge Running were organising a series of new races for 2015 along the Flitch Way. The Flitch Way for those of you who are unfamiliar is a former railway line running for 15 miles from Braintree to Bishops Stortford. It's flat, free from traffic and covers some beautiful Essex countryside. It is also where I do most of my running these days as it's on my doorstep.  

Paul and I were not going to miss this one so signed up right away. Our friends Chris and Alec also signed up, Team Um Bongo assemble! Chris some while ago bought himself an Um Bongo running vest. I am pretty sure at the time we laughed at him as it is a pretty mad vest. Now we all own these running vests and enter events under the name Team Um Bongo (when not Team BBQ)!

The days leading up to the race were less than ideal. Paul and I had been doing some decorating and were moving furniture on the Thursday evening. We were lifting a sofa which wasn't at all heavy just a little awkward to grip when I felt my upper back twinge, I shook it off and thought nothing more of it. Then Friday morning I got up to go to work when my back twinge went into spasm. Back to bed I went! Then Friday evening I started to feel like I was coming down with a lurgy. I felt like it was a conspiracy to stop me from running on the Sunday. I didn't want to see those dreaded letters against my name DNS (Did Not Start) so did everything in my power to get myself better. A bit of gentle yoga, some natural anti-inflammatories and every cold/flu remedy known to man seemed to do the trick.

One of the best things about running is that it gives you a license to eat, especially when you have an event coming up. That's an excuse I use probably far too often to justify my eating habits! So Saturday lunchtime I had a tough decision to make, go to the supermarket to do the food shop on an empty stomach or make Marmite pasta for lunch. I chose the pasta of course! To most Marmite pasta probably sounds a little random and like something from a student cookbook but I assure you it's flipping awesome. My dear friend Patsy put me onto the recipe (it's from Nigella Lawson), it's so simple that if you're a Marmite lover then you'll probably already have the ingredients to make it - spaghetti, butter, Marmite and some Italian hard cheese (vegetarian).

Sunday morning provided us with some glorious weather conditions, spring finally felt like it had sprung. The race started and finished at the Great Notley Country Park which is just off of the Flitch Way. It made a great race HQ and provided all of the essential facilities. It is also the home of the Great Notley parkrun, our local parkrun so we were in familiar surroundings and felt like we were at home. We caught up with a couple of other people we knew who were also running, Matt from Michelle's Running Group and Helen who we run with on a Sunday. We listened to race briefing given by Lindley (the Race Director) before heading to the start line. The race was a straight out and back course, starting at the Great Notley Country Park, picking up the Flitch Way along to Bannister Green Halt where we'd turn around and come back on ourselves. The start was just outside of the park and the finish at the top of the hill, affectionately known to Great Notley parkrunners as the 'hill of doom'. Luckily I was already aware of this (I volunteered for the New Years Eve Flitch Way Marathon and this also finished at the top of the hill) and it didn't come as a surprise but the reaction from the 200 field of runners would suggest that they were shocked why anyone would end a race at the top of the hill! The same sort of person who makes a 10 km course 10 km-ish (10.3 km according to my Garmin)!

Team Um Bongo L to R: Alec, Chris, Paul, Emily (and the hill of doom in the background)
(Photo credit: Katrina Leamey)

At 10am the air horn sounded and we were off. I started with a steady pace trying to keep myself around to 5 min/km, I wasn't aiming for a set time as I knew the hill finish would mean that I'd have to bank myself a couple of minutes to be within a shot of a PB and I was well aware of the niggling injuries I have. The first km the field started to spread out a little and I registered a 5:03 km so all was good. Then a girl next to me tripped and took a nasty tumble, she looked like she landed on her shoulder and grazed her knee. I stopped to check she was ok as did another chap who helped her up to her feet. She was just a bit shook up and was able to carry on. I was unexpectedly greeted by cheers at Rayne Station where the group I do my long Sunday run had finished their run and were enjoying a cup of tea. This gave me a boost and I tried to pick up my pace a little before I hit the bypass bridge which on a bit of an incline.

One of my reservations about the race was as it is an out and back race, before you get to the turn around checkpoint you'd be passed by other runners coming in the other direction on the home straight and I thought this could be a little demoralising. The first few runners who passed us were cheered on by the the other runners and given words of support and encouragement, it added a great vibe to the race. Then to my surprise I was passed by Paul who was on the home leg, he must have been 2 km ahead of me at this point and was looking strong considering he'd had issues with his achilles a few days earlier. I'd not been paying much attention but I was sure he was in the top 10 at this stage. Every runner I knew and passed going out or coming back got a high five, I forgot to mention to Chris that he must be less enthusiastic with his high five as I think he almost dislocated my shoulder! At the checkpoint I grabbed a much needed cup of water. I decided not to run with water as it was a short enough distance not to need any and if I'd hydrated well enough I should be fine, however in hindsight I wish I'd carried a small bottle.

On the return 5 km I really found a good rhythm and found myself getting faster and slowly making my way up the field passing a few runners. I even managed to register a couple of sub 5 min/km. Passing Rayne Station the running group were still there and again gave me some great encouragement. With just over a km to go one of the runners said to me "I could really do with a carton of Um Bongo right now", all I could say in reply was "me too!", I was gasping. The last km was torture, all I could think about was how thirsty I was feeling and how close yet still so far I was from the finish line where water awaits. I tagged along with a couple who were clearly going for a time, keeping up with them pushed me on and before I knew it I was over the bridge and back into the park nearing the finish. Just the hill of doom to conquer!

Climbing the hill of doom to the finish line
(Photo credit: Katrina Leamey)

The hill was lined with people cheering and supporting which really helped me find that final bit of effort needed to keep on going. Then I spotted Paul and his parents and my Mum, knowing that they'd be waiting for me at the finish line had really motivated me throughout the race. "Touch the bird to stop the clock" was all I remembered so I crossed the line and reached out for the concrete sculpture that sits on top of the hill. Lindley awarded me with my finishers medal (which is super cool) and I grabbed a much needed drink. Then I went to see Paul and Alec who had already finished and were waiting, they asked if I had stopped my watch, of course I hadn't I'd been too distracted!

The race medal was designed in the style of an old railway ticket

We waited at the top of the hill to see all the runners we knew home. Being a local race it was nice running alongside some familiar faces we know from parkrun and the circle of running friends we've grown. The whole event had a really nice and friendly atmosphere to it. Once Team Um Bongo were all accounted for we headed to the shelter of indoors at it had been quite breezy on top of the hill. Chris had put on a special treat by making some 'non-sausage rolls' especially for Paul and I as a thank you for the volunteering we'd done at Hatfield Forest parkrun (of which he is Run Director for).

Finishers with our race bling

It was never going to be a PB course due to the 0.3 km extra & the finish hill, besides the day was about enjoying myself in the company of friends. The official finishing times for Team Um Bongo were: Paul 43:19, Alec 50:14, Emily 52:42, Chris 58:54. Annoyingly, according to my Garmin my time at the 10 km mark WAS a PB of 50:58 (beating my 2014 Hatfield Broad Oak time of 51:12). However I was pleased with my efforts for the first 10 km race of the year and to my surprise I finished as the 10th female. Paul did fantastically well finishing 9th overall.

Huge thanks to Challenge Running for a fantastically organised event and the volunteer team who were always happy and helpful! If you fancy one of their Flitch Way events they've organised a Marathon in May, a half in June or if you're totally insane a New Years Eve/New Years Day double header of marathons! (Edit: an Autumn Flitch Way 10 km has just been added for September).

A special thank you to Scimitar Sports who were able to arrange a bespoke vest for me so that I could run with my fellow Um Bongoites. It was great fun wearing the vest and it attracted may comments and smiles from the crowd. The power of advertising is strong, I am sitting here drinking a cold glass of Um Bongo whilst writing this blog. Ever since someone had mentioned it to me on the run it's all I've fancied!