I’d been planning to run the Mull of Kintyre 10K for a few years now, but there’s always been one, small problem.

The places are snapped up right away!

But this year, I was determined to secure on of those spots for me, and for @thewelshwookie. and I did! Places sold out within a couple of days on release back in January, and I knew that having a May 10K to look forward to after my half marathon would be a good thing. It was!

Poor @thewelshwookie injured his knee cartilage and he moaned and complained about it for weeks  didn’t complain about it, and tried to keep the training up. But I knew that it was going to be up to me to push myself, and try to beat my 10K time.

Over 10 years, my 10K time has fluctuated from 1:03:00 – 1:09:30, and having finished the GSR2012 10K in 1:01:49 I was determined to do it in sub-1 hour.

The weather was damp, showery and cool, which was really ideal. The race was extremely well organised, and I was impressed with the expo, the stalls before the race, and the warm up was good, too. All was going to plan!

The race started with both the 10K and half marathon runners starting together- us slow coaches let the faster folks start first, then we crossed the start line, in Campbeltown main street. The 10K course was lovely and flat (most of the way) with great views over Campbeltown Loch. I felt really comfortable for the first half, and by the 5K mark I was well and truly on my game plan, picking off runners on my way past.

The final 1k is a lovely downhill run past Campbeltown Creamery, back along the main street and onto the grass in front of Aqualibrium Sports Centre. The support along the whole length of the course was brilliant, but the final 500 metres was really uplifting. The commentary, over load speaker, meant that you were name checked when crossing the line, which was pretty cool! 😉

I managed a fast final 1K, and a sprint finish (well, when I say sprint, I mean run as fast as I can until I turn purple and can’t breathe :o), with a final time of 57:26! Woo Hoo! PB!

@thewelshwookie finished too, even with his dodgy knee- well done him!

The medal is made locally in the pottery, and is amazing- really special. Much better than a mass-produced metal one.

Race Summary:

MOK10K 2012

Date: 26th May 2013

Profile: Flat

Terrain: Road

Positives: great course, lovely views, fantastic support, brilliant medal, very well organised

Negatives: pretty far for most people to get to- but definitely worth it!

Website: www.mokrun.com

Goody Bag: satchel-type bag, with a long sleeved technical shirt, a pair of running socks, water bottle, banana, milk

I’m looking forward to next year already!