Kielder 10K Race – 6th October 2012

Mark Reynolds reports back from the Kielder 10k on another successful afternoon for Tyne Bridge Harriers.

It seems to be a fatal flaw of mine to only enter 10 km races that involve plenty of hills.  Having staggered round Morpeth, Edinburgh and Cragside next on the list was the Kielder 10k, staged the day before the popular marathon.  Kielder Water holds 200 billion litres of water, which, by sheer coincidence, is exactly the same amount that will be consumed by runners in the marathon. This leaves just a small puddle by mid- afternoon and it takes Northumbrian Water a full year to refill ready in time for the next one.

The day dawned bright and clear with little fluffy clouds hanging over Northumberland boding well for a good day out.  Heading up to Falstone village with good friend David Hambler we enjoyed the scenery and discussed the coming race.  Having checked out the profile it appeared to be a bit up and down with the main climb coming in the first mile or so for 140m of elevation (a mere slope compared to last week’s Kielder Blast of 450+).   At £23 the race entry fee was at the higher end of the spectrum so we hoped for a good event for the money.  One smart feature was chip timing integrated into the race numbers meaning that you didn’t have to faff on with a credit card tied to your trainer (but still had to faff on with four pins in a vest).

Parking up in a field, marshals directed us to the shuttle bus for the reservoir itself.  There was a good atmosphere here with the site set up for the 10k and marathon and plenty of runners and supporters milling about like grockles.  Checking our bags into the drop off and getting ready was straightforward with plenty of friendly marshals.  Also welcome were plenty of friendly toilets which at least rescued the reservoir and the people of the North East from some dodgy coloured tap water the next day.

Heading to the assembly point I spotted a few familiar faces including Stuart Dickson and Denise WaughPaul Hilton was moonlighting for his ‘other’ team and running the first 11k leg of the Run Bike Run which followed the full marathon course round the lake.  TBH were also represented in this event by Louise Rodgers, Rob Kirtley and Anji Close taking the 11/26/5 km splits in turn to make the full 26.2 miles.  The runners for this race started about 5 minutes ahead of the main 10k and soon disappeared into the trees and hills.

I chatted nervously with Kevin Jeffress near the front of the pack as we waited for the off.  We weren’t sure what the course was going to bring and talked down the chances of a PB given the terrain.  The starter called us to the front and warned us that the first runner down the hill would make it onto Look North – Kev needed no second invitation and shot off for a date with Carol Malia.  The pack of 500 runners surged over the line and headed down to the edge of the lake.

Within 250 metres we were climbing into the trees and I glimpsed Kev’s black and white vest as he forged ahead.  The first mile was mainly uphill on a gravel trail surrounded by pine trees, rocks and ferns.  There were no spectators on the course and the only sounds were the pounding of feet on the trail and increasingly laboured breathing.   Soon we reached the peak and immediately went hurtling down the other side on a long descent.  This set the pattern for the race with climbs followed by quick descents on the trail paths.

I generally struggle a bit on the uphill’s and then manage to make up ground going down the other side so tried to keep it steady.  The route was well marked and regular kilometre markers helped break the course down.  The track twisted and turned round the Bull Crag peninsula which dominates the southwest corner of the lake.  At one point a runner in front of me gave up on a climb and staggered to a halt, I tried to help with a word of encouragement, only to have him pass me a few minutes later!

Reaching the halfway point in 20.25 I was pleased with my progress but wary of the terrain to come.  I decided to try and keep up the pace until the 8k point and then see if I could finish off in under 41 mins.  I began to slowly gain on the runners in front of me, imperceptibly narrowing the gaps.  The track plunged  into a narrow woodland trail with twists, turns and sharp banks.  Hearing shouts ahead I knew the line was close and pushed on hard as a Crook AC runner (Craig Downs) came past me.  Breaking out of the tree cover the finish line was just ahead, the announcer shouting encouragement over the PA.  We both sprinted for the line and the Craig held me off to take 12th place.

Gasping congratulations to the others runners I was immediately handed a personal print out with our time and finishing position on it – a nice touch.  I’d clocked an official 40.27 and was both surprised and pleased with this, taking 1.20 off my previous best.  Then straight through to the marquee where we were handed goody bags, t-shirts and medals, all of which were very decent.  The goody bag contained a Mars bar (devoured immediately), an isotonic drink (ditto), Salomon running socks, a lollipop, smoothie,  500ml Start Fitness water bottle, an energy gel and a bunch of flyers all inside a Start Fitness shoulder bag (an item shamelessly copied from the TBH 5 Mile race by the event organisers).  All in all I would award this package the coveted Professor Tournesol Goody Bag of the Year 2012.

I stumbled over to the massage area where Kev Jeffress was sprawled flat out, having run the race of his life to finish 2nd in an amazing 35.27, just behind Tim Calder of Gateshead.  Kev was looking pretty comfortable on the massage table so I wandered over for a cup of tea and piece of cake provided by Kielder Parish Council and watched the finish.  There were black and white vests throughout the field as vocal support from Denise rang out to encourage Natalie Mee, Christopher Murther and Stephanie McFarlane over the line.

A little while later the Run Bike Run teams began to arrive with the winner crossing the line in 1 hour 58, slightly ahead of Paul’s Nexus colleague in 2nd.  The TBH trio clocked a mighty impressive 2 hours 24 mins for 26.2 miles to take 10th place overall out of 42 finishers.

Having watched the conclusion of the racing it was time to hop back onto the bus in order to win the marathon, er… head home, for a weary but happily glowing rest.  Well done to all TBH runners today especially those debuting at the distance.  Here’s to the marathon runners taking on the course tomorrow with best wishes for a successful day.

Full results can be found here.

Mark ‘Cuthbert’ Reynolds

TBH Results for Kielder 10k

Pos Overall Bib Competitor Category Team Chip Time
1 2 739 Kevin Jeffress SNR Tyne Bridge Harriers 0:35:27
2 14 442 Mark Reynolds SNR Tyne Bridge Harriers 0:40:27
3 77 737 Stuart Dickson V40 Tyne Bridge Harriers 0:47:56
4 120 472 Natalie Mee SNR Tyne Bridge Harriers 0:51:20
5 155 473 Christopher Murther SNR Tyne Bridge Harriers 0:52:41
6 343 487 Stephanie McFarlane SNR Tyne Bridge Harriers 1:03:51

 

TBH Results for Kielder Run Bike Run 26.2 Miles

Pos Overall Bib Competitor
Approximate distances:
Run 1
11km
Cycle
26km
Run 2
5km
Finish
3 2 1538 Paul Hilton + Nexus 0:40:25
PH
0:54:32 0:25:07 2:00:04
10 5 1516 Louise Rodgers, Rob Kirtley, Anji Close 0:47:38
LR
1:05:32
RK
0:31:26
AC
2:24:36

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.tynebridgeharriers.com/2012/10/07/kielder-10k-race-6th-october-2012/

8 comments

Skip to comment form

    • louise rodgers on 7th October 2012 at 19:59
    • Reply

    Not a TyneBridger just yet but there as a guest and made to feel welcome by them all.Had a fab day and great running by everyone.They did TBH proud.x

      • Cuthbert on 7th October 2012 at 22:12
      • Reply

      Thanks Louise – hope you didn’t mind being included in the black and white family for the day! :)

  1. Another stupendous report from the one and only Mark Reynolds. If I ran as well as Mark wrote, I’d be top five in every race. Thanks for taking the time and effort for your latest race report.
    And congratulations to everyone who competed throughout the day. I’ve a sneaking feeling no matter what race or leg you competed in, there’d be at a hill or two to get over.

    • Dave Moir on 7th October 2012 at 20:34
    • Reply

    Great report Professor, and another great result for TBH this weekend. You really need to try a flat 10K soon.

    • Kenny mac on 7th October 2012 at 20:54
    • Reply

    A couple of points-
    1/ Mark Reynolds writes a damned good race report.
    2/ Mark Reynolds is improving as a runner (Sub 40 club before end of year)
    3/ Louise Rodgers please come to Tyne Bridge Training.
    4/ Kevin Jeffress is a class act and will improve further (that is a message from your Aunty Cilla)
    5/ Tyne Bridge is growing but is still cohesive and caring.
    6/ Stuart Dickson runs identical times for several races but is on the rise/
    7/ Well done to the run bike run teams 2nd and 5th.
    8/ Well done to all the other TBH’ers, amazing feat

    • Paul Hilton on 8th October 2012 at 09:10
    • Reply

    Well done also to TBH new recruit Frankie King who placed 3rd lady .

    • Mick hancock on 9th October 2012 at 14:45
    • Reply

    I ran the 10k too , just don’t have a Tyne bridge vest too pull on yet , as I’ve only been too one session so far, was a great course & very challenging , but manage too knock 2.40 off my own pb coming in at 49.56 ended up in a sprint finish coming in 101st was a great day .

    • Kev jeffress on 9th October 2012 at 21:53
    • Reply

    Excellent report mark, and great running too! Well done to everyone

Leave a Reply to Mick hancock Cancel reply

Your e-mail address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.