This morning was the second time I had participated in the Burnham Joggers Staggered Jog. This is a time trial event, held for free for club members, where the start time for everyone is staggered based on their last 10k time. So in theory, everyone finishes at the same time. For example, if your last 10k time was 58 minutes, you would start at 10:02, and if it was 46 minutes, you start at 10:14. It is a race against yourself, not everyone else. You win the candlesticks if you make the best improvement out of everyone over a 12 month period. The route starts at our club and takes you through some quiet roads in Burnham towards Burnham Beeches, before looping back round towards the club. It is a beautiful route and a challenging one, with the first half pretty much uphill, and the second half a bit more forgiving but still undulating.
I would say there was almost 20 runners this morning, so it was quite a good turnout. I had made gingerbread the day before as well, and brought some for everyone when they finished, so we all had something to look forward to. I had not participated in this run since February, as it is held once a month on the last Sunday and I had been busy doing a lot of races! I was quite excited to see how much I could push it around the route, and as it is a self-navigating run, I had run round with someone a bit slower the first time. I had completed it in 59:29 back then, but had gone round another time one Summer evening and completed in 57:11, so I was hoping to tickle a 56 minute time today. Since February, the organisation of the race has been taken over by a different member, and I was nicely surprised to find we were using race numbers today. Number 37 for me. I was told I would be starting at 10:03 and was asked to show another member the way round. Best hope I don’t forget the way!
It was a chilly morning, about 7°C, so I had opted for compression tights, but could only find a club vest, so coupled it with a compression top. I would certainly be warm enough! We were some of the first to leave, and I was quite excited, chatting away a little to Mark, chasing a couple of other club runners ahead, until we started hitting the hills and the heavy breathing began. The two of us accepted we were both pushing up the hills and just knuckled down. Enthusiam and some flat road ensured a good 8:38 minutes for the first mile, 8:52 as we were ploughing up the second mile of hills and a slower 9:24 as we climbed steeper up towards the top. We both laughed as we saw the Blackwood Arms pub, wishing we could stop for a cheeky pint!
Soon after that, we had a nice downhill and were happily plodding down it, catching our breath. The Beeches are beautiful on any day, but they looked magnificent in their autumnal surroundings, colourful leaves all around. I marvelled in it (to try and distract myself from how hard I was pushing) and kept plodding along next to Mark. The route undulates quite a bit through the Beeches but with a good couple of downhill sections. Mark had a bit left in the tank and pushed on with 2 miles to go. I kept pushing where I was, and hearing another runner behind me gave me a little encouragement to keep going as hard as I could.
Soon we were dropping back past Snowball Farm and there was only a mile to go. Another runner who had started a bit after me came zooming past with some encouragement, which I gratefully returned, expecting lots more to come past me (they never did). There is a small hill before the crossroads – that’s when you know you are almost there. I could feel my legs getting tired now but didn’t want to show face and plodded up the incline before pushing on along Poyle Lane. Not long now, I thought. I pushed as hard as I could go, chasing the others in front of me, determined to do the best time I possibly could. Soon, I was turning back into the field at the club and pulled a slightly faster sprint out of the bag (not sure where that came from!) and was shocked to find that I had finished in a time of 54:20 (a 5 minute improvement)! I cheered the others in, catching my breath, then had a little catch up and some gingerbread – yum!
A big thank you to Nell and Alan for waiting in the cold field at the club for us all to come back and timing us. I look forward to seeing how everyone faired in the next week when the results come out. Well done to everyone who ran this morning! My biggest thanks to Mark for pushing me on and giving me someone to chase in those last couple of miles!
Amanda x
Keen To Tri 