Guest Post: Chris Hatton Wins The Rayleigh 10k!

Having booked the Southend Triathlon in for 2017 I was keen to get a couple of events in beforehand. For me, it's important to have these smaller races in the diary before a big event to give myself a good assessment on where my fitness levels are. It’s equally important to be race prepared; racing is very different to training and psychologically it’s important I get in ‘race mode’ as often as possible! I have also set myself personal goals this year focused on improving my running times one of which is to get a sub 35 minute 10k.

The first event that I took part in was the Rayleigh 10k. This was a new event for 2017 and attracted me as it was entirely off road on bridleways, through woods, and around fields. The route itself was very technical with lots of tree roots, corners, gates, and uneven ground to manoeuvre around - not to mention the horses! The organisers did a good job spraying arrows on the floor to avoid confusion but navigation was still tricky in places. There were a number of hills but none that were too steep, and what goes up must come down meaning faster running on the downhill parts! I seem to thrive in these conditions and thoroughly enjoyed it.

My training has been going pretty well with some very tough structured sessions focused on helping me reach my running goals, but as we lined up at the start I spotted that there were at least three other runners that I knew could beat me (and had done so a few times!) The training plans paid off and after being part of a two-man lead for the first 6k, I noticed myself edging ahead. I wasn’t sure if this was due to me speeding up or the other runner slowing down, but I fought hard not to look behind me to check the gap.

I was running in a Sundried Ortler T-shirt. These do great on race day as they are light-weight and super comfortable, as well as having sweat-wicking technology which kept me dry under the pressure of racing! 

I finished the race in first place with a time of 36:06. I had set a 35-minute target but given the tricky terrain, I was happy with the time. I was 20 seconds ahead of second place who I hung onto for the first 6k.

The race was organised very well for a first event and it was a great course making the most of the surrounding woods around Hockley and Cherry Orchard Way. There were 300 runners and a good number of local running clubs represented.

Now on to the Rochford 10k on the 14 May and most importantly the Southend Triathlon on the 28 May!