Stanhope 10 Miler, 28th August 2022
I took part in the fourth Stanhope 10 Miler on Sunday 28th August, set in rural Weardale, County Durham. In the organisers own words: “a non-profit event that supports local charities by raising funds and awareness of their cause. All money raised goes directly to the charity. This year we have chosen Quinn’s Retreat again, they offer a retreat for those bereaved by suicide.”
I thought the ‘undulating’ course would be a good warm-up for the Great North Run in 2 weeks time, but in my nascent running career, I have never encountered hills like these.
The race began with almost 2 miles of steep, continuous uphill, the first mile alone up the ominously-dubbed ‘Killing me’ Softly Bank being around 400ft/110 metres.
After a brief, flat respite, a slightly shorter but no less severe downhill stretch followed, providing a different kind of challenge. The race continued in this way for the next five miles or so, alternating between toiling up sharp climbs and barrelling down lengthy descents. A lovely sunny day was perfectly offset by a steady breeze as 97 of us ran/walked through the picturesque dales, though there were a couple of busier stretches where we had to be extra alert for passing Sunday drivers.
The course levelled out (relatively speaking) for the last three miles, but it was around mile 8 that disaster struck. By this point my legs were running on empty, drained by the intensity of the up-and-down. Rounding a corner, a marshal warned of a sharp left turn onto a rough, woodland track that dipped down, the race having been exclusively on roads up to that point.
Heeding his warning, I took the 100 degree corner carefully… and immediately tripped on a tree root, going completely head-over heels, covering myself in dirt and gashing my knee and hand. Thankfully not injured beyond flesh-wounds, I got up and soldiered on for the last stretch, but any momentum I’d had left was gone.
This was certainly a ‘character-building’ experience, and one I swore I’d not be looking to repeat any time soon. But as I’ve learned from cross-country, time quickly heals the most traumatic of running memories, so we’ll see next August…
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 21st | Laurie Johnson | 1:18:47 |
