Barrie Roberts reports: Yesterday (Sunday Morning), at 7:15am, I headed for Hereford Race Course, and arrived in good time at the Main Hall, Hereford Leisure Centre (adjacent to the actual Race Course itself) to enter/register and collect my number,1417, for the Hereford 5k Road Race. Another warm day, with temperatures mid teens and rapidly climbing. The Marathon started at 9am, followed by the Half-Marathon, 10k and the 5k Road Race at 10:20am.
It was technically a road race, but the road was ‘unmetalled’, and one had to concentrate on where one was putting one’s feet, as the surface was uneven in places and hard but dry (an unmetalled road has no surface covering over the bare earth or grass track; it is sometimes described as a dirt or gravel road).
The Race had chip timing,and consisted of just over two laps of an anti-clockwise circuit, which normally formed a considerable part of the local parkrun course. I completed the 5k distance in a time (chip/gun) of 25:17. A season’s best, and new Age Cat. Club Record (subject to ratification). I was 13th out of 124 finishers.
I enjoyed my visit to the Hereford Festival of Running. The weather was warm and sunny, and there was an attendant and enthusiastic crowd of supporters/on-watchers and a running ‘loud-speaker’ commentary on the races.
Just to thank the organisers, marshals volunteers fellow runners and spectators, for a great day out in Hereford and many more.
Richard Llewellyn 1hr 58mins half marathon….