South Leeds Stadium 5km Fun Run - March 2007
This race is a bit different to the others I take part in, this one is more of a family affair. In the past I have run it with my Mum and Dad and this was the third consecutive year of running it with my daughter. She was very keen, even three years ago, to take part and to 'run like Mummy', not something many people would aspire to - but then she was only four! So, this year, at the advanced age of six, she was hoping to do rather better than she had done on her previous outings. To this end we undertook some training this time, previously we'd simply turned up and gone around as she had felt capable - so when she wanted to run, we ran and when she wanted to walk, we walked. We began our training quite a few weeks before the event to give her a proper amount of time to work up to it. We began by running on the hill where we live. The South Leeds race is almost entirely hill, be that up or down, so training up and down our hill was perfect preparation without having to do more than step outside our front door. We began by covering just over a mile, running continuously down the hill, having a quick break at the bottom, then running back up again with gradually fewer breaks, until finally she was able to run up without a stop. Nearer the time we also did a couple of miles non-stop around a local park (a relatively flat one, to give her the endurance needed time wise), then a 2 and a half mile loop down the hill and back just a couple of weeks before the real thing. We talked about keeping a steady pace and trying to breathe properly and she really tried to put it all into practice, pretty good for 6.
So, come race day, I was feeling pretty hopeful for her and she was very excited. The weather wasn't really on our side, but even the freezing cold wasn't about to put her off. She can be decidedly determined at times. When the race began most of the field zoomed away from us, but unlike our previous outings, she didn't let that bother her. I promised her we'd pass some of them again later if we kept to our pace and didn't try to race off after them - just as well I was right. Some we'd picked off before the top of that first little bit of hill before even turning into Middleton Park, obviously some rather over-enthusiastic initial pacing there. She did really well, just keeping with me and steadily advancing around the course. The worst of the hill work is in the first half of the race. That big slope probably seemed never ending to her, especially as the wind howled down it into our faces and flung hailstones straight into her face, she wasn't too amused, but still she kept at it. Thankfully that was the worst of the weather as well as the harderst bit of effort, so once we'd rounded the corner at the top, things became easier all round. She had one brief moment on the hill when she said she didn't really want to do it, but she never gave up. And as we progressed down the hill and she knew we were nearing the finish, her excitement grew. She kept saying how proud she was of herself and that she'd have earned her medal. Indeed she had. When she was 4 she completed the 5k in 45:59. Last year, at 5 and suffering from a cold, she managed 44:42. This time she knocked a lot off her time and basically ran the entire distance, barring a couple of steps, so that hardly counts! Anyway, this time she did it in 38:05! more than 6:30 faster than last year! She was well chuffed with herself and I was suitably impressed.
For the first time, she wasn't the youngest competitor. There was a wee boy of 5, who she beat, and another girl of 6 who came in about 30 seconds before her. So, all in all, a pretty good showing. We both managed to enjoy it despite the weather's best efforts to the contrary. Roll on next year! It's not easy running at a pace suitable for her, but on the other hand, I'm not exactly fast anyway, she'll probably be streaking away from me in a few years time, or saying it's hard for her to maintain a pace that accommodates me.