Race Report
The Chicester 10K
IN AN IDEAL WORLD, you’d bump a race like this a little further into the year. It’s a PB-hunter’s dream and so a bit of a wasted opportunity for those of us who, by the start of February, are only just starting to think again about any sort of proper training. Mind you, judging by the quick times posted at the pointy end of the field, there were plenty of runners who had managed to fit in some interval training among the LSE (long, slow eating) sessions that are a feature of this time of year.
For context, seven runners broke the elite-level 30-minute barrier, GB double Olympian Steph Twell was first woman home and over three quarters of the field finished in less than an hour.
The route itself has changed a number of times over the event’s 28-year history and back in 2017 it switched to the current iteration: the first six-and-a-bit kilometres are on quiet country roads outside Chichester, and the final 3.8km section is a full lap of the track at Goodwood motor-racing circuit.
As is often the way with shorter, fast races, much of it passed in a blur but I was dimly aware of an inordinate number of club vests passing me; the course was well planned; the marshals did their job with understated aplomb and there was plenty of water.
What did catch my attention was haring past the Rolls Royce HQ and then running along a stretch of
Stane Street, which dates back to 70AD. It was built by the Romans, is predictably straight(ish) and connects Chichester with London Bridge, 90 kilometres away.
When we turned into Goodwood, which has been restored to look as it did in its 1950s heyday, I had expected to put the hammer down and pick off as many unsuspecting ‘roadkill’ victims as possible on the wide, flat asphalt. But, everyone else seemed to be equally inspired by running on such a venerable track, so my plans of channelling my inner Stirling Moss and cruising my way past a few sputtering engines in the final stages came to nought.
The only bum note in the whole proceeding was the long and slowmoving queue beyond the finish line to collect medals and a plastic cup of water – no hot drinks were on offer despite the brisk weather – but, that aside, it’s easy to see why the organisers get close to 1,500 runners turning out here year after year. It’s quick, it’s uncomplicated and it’s how road racing should be.