Terry O’Gara Memorial 5K, 26th April 2015

Report by Matthew Kingston:

I don’t especially like 5k races. They are too much pain and suffering in a relatively shortish time. Being a glutton for punishment though I entered this as it’s only down the road from where I live and I was familiar with the course(or so I thought). Also it would give me an idea of how I was doing fitness wise(not that well as it turns out).

I had only done this race once before but having taken part  in the Gordon Smith Relays a number of times I thought I knew what to expect routewise. On arrival though it transpired that the path behind Segudunum had been shut so we were going to be sent off in the opposite direction which would include the infamous Davey Bank twice.

I had arrived a bit early, misjudging how long it takes to cycle down from Heaton and having collected my number I met up with fellow Claremonter Ben Hull. Eventually the start time rolled around and we positioned ourselves mid pack. It was a bit of a tight squeeze and after vaulting a cone right after the start line we were all away safely. I set off at a pace on the limit of my comfort zone, but I guess that’s what these short races are all about. After about a mile we reached the aforementioned Davey Bank, a spiteful 40 yards of incline. Then it was back to near the start for the second loop. The last km was particularly challenging, the spectre of a recent stomach bug manifesting itself. Crossed the finish line in just over 19mins 30secs, which translated into a 19:27 chip time.

Soon after Mr Hull tore across the line to become the first v70 to finish bagging himself some vouchers.