I have
done the Ultimate Run for Men's Cancers 10km race for the last 3 years (under
its various different names/sponsors) but decided on a new 15km option for the
15th anniversary of the race. Having never done a 15km race it was a good
opportunity to test the Half Marathon pace I have set myself to go sub 1:40 in
the Army Run in September.
They set
the 15km race off first but I wasn't really sure what the actual course the
race would take. I was given "about as far as the Pretoria Bridge and then turn around and do
the normal finish for the 10km". I realized that would mean the tough
climb would come between 11km and 12.5km and prepared myself mentally for this.
I got chatting to a lady at the start who had competed in
every single one of these Men’s Cancer races and because she was unsure of the
course I told her what I had been told. But as I was telling her it didn’t seem
right; the turnaround would have to be much further away that the Pretoria Bridge to make
this a 15km race. I didn’t like the uncertainty but shook it off and got ready
for the gun.
Off we went and I quickly found my pace as the number of
runners was quite small (42). I was actually in the lead for a brief moment but
that didn't last as the fast runners sped off into the distance. I counted
those ahead of me and tucked into 9th place.
I had set myself a pace goal of 4:44 per kilometre but so
far wasn’t hitting that mark covering the first kilometre in 4:52. I figured I
would pick up the pace soon but the wind was in our faces and the course was
mostly uphill. I passed 3 runners to go into 6th place and kept
pushing as hard as I felt I could up until the Pretoria Bridge, where sure
enough the marshal waved us through and said, “turn around is all the way up by
the Laurier Bridge”. That made much more sense and allowed me to relax a bit
and continue pushing. I wasn't however able to stop another runner passing me,
putting me into 7th position. I tried to hang with her for a bit and
upped my pace, but I couldn’t keep pace with her and let her go ahead,
consoling myself with a strong 7th place rather than blowing up and
finishing much further back. I hit the 5km turn in 24 minutes flat and noticed
as I rounded the cone that there was no-one behind me for quite some distance.
Splits - 5kms
1km - 4:52
2km - 4:50
3km - 4:47
4km - 4:41
5km - 4:50 - 24:00
With a good lead on the runner in 8th I decided
to push on a bit and try and hit 4:44/km and managed it for about one kilometre
until my legs protested a bit too much. Instead I took it down a notch,
determined to finish strong and under 1:12:00 for the race.
By this time the 10km race had started and they use the same
course as the 15km but with a closer turnaround. I saw some of the leaders
heading the other way and noted their red bibs so that when they passed me (and
they inevitably would) that I wouldn’t freak out thinking that a 15km runner
was passing me. Sure enough a kilometre later some red bib runners started
passing me. By this time I was approaching the 10km mat.
Splits - 5kms
6km - 4:43
7km - 4:50
8km - 4:53
9km - 4:56
10km - 4:51 - 48:10
Just over 48 minutes for 10km and the toughest part of the
race was to come with the gradual but long incline to the 12.5km turnaround.
Quick arithmetic in my head meant that I’d have to negotiate this last 3rd
of the race in a faster time than the 24 minutes I managed for the first 5km if
I wanted to go under 1:12:00.
I pushed hard up the hill, cognisant of my slowing pace, but
knowing that the last 2.5kms were downhill and that I’d have to push really
hard in that section. As it had been for the last little while I would be
passed, glance to my side, see a red bib and heave a sigh of relief, I had no
idea if I was being hunted down by other 15km runners or not. I saw the 6th
place 15km runner (grey bib) heading back to the finish line and they seemed to
be about a minute and a half ahead of me.
At the 12.5km turnaround I took a quick swig of water and
then upped the pace, while all the time looking to the other side of the road
to see where the next 15km runner was. When I saw him I realised I had a huge
lead on him (over 2 minutes by quick rough calculation) and that I would finish
in 7th place overall (if I had counted correctly) as I wasn’t about
to catch the runner ahead of me. I just focussed on pushing as hard as I could
to get under 1:12:00 covering the 14th kilometre in 4:40 and
speeding up further for the 15th kilometre.
At the finish the course takes a sharp turn onto grass and
finishes in a park (where they had all the tents etc. for the race). I gunned
it as hard as I could and could see from the clock that I had done just enough,
hitting the mat at 1:11:44 for a very pleasing race.
Splits - 5kms
11km - 4:55
12km - 4:59
13km - 4:49
14km - 4:40
15km - 4:24 - 1:11:44
A quick check of the race results had me in 7th
place, 5th place for men and 2nd place in my age category
(M30-39). I cooled off and it started to rain so I started to head back to the
car until I heard my name called, turns out there were medals for 1st,
2nd and 3rd in each age group and I turned around and
went to pick up a silver medal for my efforts.
In the end even though I couldn't hold 4:44/km I was very
pleased with my race and silver medal (never received a special medal before).
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