And so this Saturday morning would offer a lie in. Just by way of a change as we’re usually up before the crack of dawn doing our thang! Mandy had offered to collect me from mine at 06h00 and off we drove to Paula’s house where Paula took over the driving with Sonja, Mandy and me in tow. What an absolute pleasure with this race being just 12km from where we live. Gee we could almost have run there 🙂 On arrival the parking marshal’s were slightly flustered with most of the parking having been taken by early entries. Initially they asked us to park out on the street, then with a change of mind they offered us and many more, a parking spot up on the grass. Grateful of course we accepted with both hands and a parking spot was firmly secured. Our next task was to collect our race card which proved to be a piece of cake. Quick visit to the ladies and off we walked to line up and get ready for the 10km Richmond Corner.
I’m quite sure the start line hadn’t been agreed upon as firstly we were told that we’d be exiting the shopping centre to the right? and then the left? Um no back to the right! And so it was, the decision had been made and we’d be leaving to run on the Tygerberg Road. Fair enough. But here I was in the front row amongst all the top runners, with Sharon Nel and Louise Kum? Crikey i’ve never had this priviledge before, ever! But of course once the gun went off I immediately pulled over to the left allowing the serious runners to race off and get to the finish line as soon as humanly possible.
The route was pretty straightforward with marshals – mostly West Coasters – indicating exactly which way to go. A couple of hills thrown in for good measure but nothing untoward. I managed to catch a glimpse of Sonja’s soles as she ran ahead with Mandy hot on her heels. I caught up with Paula on a couple of occassions which resulted in a cat and mouse affair. Paula in front, then my turn. Me in front, then Paua’s turn. The beauty of a 10km race however, is that it’s over pretty quickly. It had no sooner started then it was all over. Entering the finish line I could hear shouts from the side line with Tam encouraging me to catch Paula. I was that close. But you know what – Paula and her long legs dropped a gear and pipped me at the post. Well done Paula!
Velocity supplied two water tables and that’s exactly what they were. Water tables. Water tables offering water sachets. I have to be honest and admit i’m always a bit cagey about the water sachets as one never really knows where they’ve come from? So I did help myself to a couple of them from each table and used them to cool down my legs. In a nutshell I would definitely attempt this race again. Well organized by Velocity, yes. The route was good as were the marshals. I saw so many West Coasters volunteering for this task. A lovely morning out indeed and a tiny medal to take home too.
Thanks for driving us through Paula and thank you Velocity for a good first Richmond Park 10km.
