Leeds 10K 2010 Result

Well, the race is run and the results are in. Considering I did a frankly atrocious 5k on Saturday (where my legs gave out about 2k in and I walked much of the rest), the actual day went pretty well. I guess the old saying about it being alright on the night works for runs as well. I ran from start to finish (excepting a couple of bits, as described below) and best of all, the amount raised for Macmillan Cancer Support stands at a healthy £205, with some more to come!

Thanks to everyone who supported me and donated their cash.

I managed to get around with a quite respectable 1:02:32, although it pains me to think I could have done much better; not just because of the less than perfect shape I'm in at the moment, but also because of the way the race was organised on the day. in 2007 when I ran the first one, there was about 3000 people taking part. Last Sunday there was more than double that. It meant that the start was a shambles; we walked up the Leeds Headrow for a good minute before getting going due to the sheer number of people, and just before the 2k mark, the crowds had pushed the barriers into the road, causing a bottleneck of frustrated runners there too. The elusive sub-hour time still eludes me. Perhaps the Leeds Abbey Dash or somesuch will come to my rescue later in the year.

Leeds Run for All 2010

It's nearly time for the 2010 Jane Tomlinson Leeds 10k. In amongst putting a wall up and generally shredding my fingerends with the concrete mix, I managed a test 10k at the weekend and managed a pretty respectable 1:03:21, which given it's my first proper mid-range run in several months is quite competitive (for me!). Rest assured I will be training hard until July 4th to get that time down a bit further.

I'll be running for Macmillan Cancer Support once again, and hope to do them proud. If anyone would like to sponsor me, please visit my Justgiving Leeds 10k 2010 page. Don't forget to claim Gift Aid if you're a UK resident!



Thanks!

(PS. I've applied for the 2011 London Marathon too - I must be mad)

Jane Tomlinson - Leeds 10k 2009 Result

Last weekend I was part of the Leeds 10k once more, and managed to chalk up £53 in sponsorship for Macmillan. The weather held up pretty good, although the sun began to beat down strongly halfway through which sapped energy. Even so, I managed a quite respectable 4152/10239 rank with a chip time of 1.03.29. The magic hour time continues to elude me, but there is still the Harewood House (Oct) and Leeds Abbey Dash (Nov) 2009 events, of which in previous years I have managed one of, this year in my bouncy new mood I may have a go at both and perhaps that hour will be broken on one of those.

Harewood House - Result

Me and my boss Howard managed it around the Harewood House 10k yesterday, and despite being the hilliest course I have taken part in, and not doing so much exercise in the prior weeks, I managed to put in a time of 1:01:55, which is my best time on a 10k event. There was a glimmer of hope for a sub-hour time, but a massive hill between the 7 and 8k mark put paid to that, but I'm still happy. Next on the list - the Leeds Abbey Dash in November.

Harewood House 10k

Well, I threatened myself that I would do it and I will. My next race will be the Harewood House 10K in Leeds on 14 September. The organizers are being a little coy about the actual race route, but so far they have said that its around the grounds of the house and will be 'a bit hilly but not quite as bad as last year'. Apparently last year, the hills caused people to keel over a bit, and since the hill is my natural enemy, it'll be a bit of a slog, but it's all for charity so it will be worth it.

I will be running for Cancer Research UK and I've set up a fundraising page here for anyone who would like to sponsor me, or you could come along on the day and watch me turn into a gibbering, wheezing heap.

Leeds Run For All 2008

Last Sunday, the rain mercifully waited just long enough for most of the racers to get over the finish line with only their accumulated sweat and the contents of a few thousand drinks bottles to drench them.

This post is a big thankyou to everyone who has sponsored me for this event. So far, the amount raised by everyone is £153, which will be heading to Macmillan Cancer Support soon. If you wanted to sponsor me but forgot or never got the chance, you still can - please visit my donation site, which will remain open for sponsorship until 22 September.

It was a pretty damn good day. The atmosphere at the start was electric and the whole buzz had a life affirming feel, seeing so many people trying to acheive goals and raise cash together. It got a little lairy as a few thousand people tried to wave their arms and legs about in an attempt to follow the warm-up guy without killing the person next to them but it was great fun. The only slight let-down was that almost twice the amount of people (12,000 ish) took part this year over last years totals, and it was a bit of a crush at the start and the half-way point. The first half mile was not much more than walking pace and the 'hairpin bend' at the 5.5km mark almost brought the pack to a standstill.

I will use these excuses and more to explain my 1:04:30 time, which is about 30 seconds off last year, where I pushed myself too hard off the start and ended up paying for it in the final two-thirds. This year, once the pack had opened out, I was keeping a steady pace all the way around, and at the end it was less of a case of crawling back to the car, as walking sedately.

Seriously considering the Pudsey and Harewood House runs later on this year..

Leeds Run For All 2008

As a brief stop between all the Japanese stuff, I thought I'd mention that I will be running the Leeds Run For All 2008 again. It's a 10Km run through the centre of leads out towards Headingley and back again.

Last year, with the help of many kind people including family, friends and work colleagues I was able to raise £500 for Macmillan Cancer Relief, and my performance was.. well, not too bad, clocking in at 1:03:58. This year, I hope to break the hour mark, and donations to the cause would certainly speed me onto that goal!

So if any kind souls would like to sponsor me for this cause, you'll be helping cancer sufferers around in the UK and abroad.

My justgiving site is here: http://www.justgiving.com/fp_rfa08. Remember to tick the Gift Aid box to ensure the taxman doesn't get his hands on part of it.

Thanks in advance,

FP