Popping my 10k cherry at The Running Show

Race report: Tom Copeland took part in his first 10km race at the 2013 Running Show

On a cold autumnal Sunday morning, I found myself feeling completely out of place, not really knowing what I was doing and feeling apprehensive about what lay ahead.

I was lining up for the 10k race at The Running Show at Sandown Park. This doesn’t sound too ominous, however for me running is still quite a novelty having been a cyclist for the past ten years. 

I had been coerced into taking part in the 10k seeing as I was already at the show and didn’t think much more about it until the build-up when people were warming up and talking minute-miles and times … now I was feeling the pressure.

Not one to shy away from competition I was up for the challenge, and with my new On Cloudrunners I was ready for whatever Sandown Park could throw at me.

The line-up and countdown came and went and soon enough and I found myself getting completely carried away with the occasion, sprinting off and trying to stay with the front-runners. If you don’t know the course, it’s not a flat one. There are two tough sections, one in front of the Park, a long drag up from the car park to the stables, and then another long false flat for over a kilometre back up from the racecourse. It was on the first of two laps up this race course drag that I realised I had been a bit over enthusiastic and started to pay for my efforts.

A quick glance to the side and runners I had happily raced away from earlier on were back on my coat-tails (no I wasn’t that naïve to be wearing a coat!) and I was only 4km into the race.

I was definitely in damage-limitation mode, and I was dutifully informed post-race that my face quickly turned from ‘looking easy’ to ‘in pain’ in a fairly short space of time. It wasn’t until the second lap, with around three kilometres to go that I started to come around and proceeded to get my chase on to track down some of the smarter ones that knew something about pacing.

The second time up the race course hill, feeling more like a mountain this time round, I was well and truly in the zone, and in the hurt locker, but focused on not getting caught and getting under 45-minutes – my pre-race target.

It took a frantic finish to not get caught by someone closing in fast behind but I crossed the line in 42’45”, a lot better than expected, and in 17th place; respectable in my books.

Once I had recovered, and held in what was eager to come out from my insides, I was able to take in how great the event was. A nice, varied course taking you round all aspects of Sandown Park, well marshaled and a perfect start/finish area for people to watch while not leaving the vicinity of the show.

It may have been my first race, and the first time I had run for more than 40-minutes, but I loved it and definitely got the bug. What was more, I was able to head straight back in to refuel on the different energy products on offer at the show and was even tempted to splash out on a full set of running kit just so I looked a bit more the part. That will make me faster right?!

All-in-all it was a great day out, a superb event from TCR shows which I will be back for next year, and a great exhibition in general with many of the top brands in running showing off shiny new kit to tempt even the most novice of runners – a category I no longer fit into.

Men's 10km results

Women's 10km results

Click here for full results

Men's 5k results

Women's 5k results

Click here for full results