Fun at the Bradford City Runs
Sunday the 30th October 2016. The weekend sandwiched between the Manchester Half Marathon and the Leeds Abbey Dash. While many Pumas were enjoying a well deserved lie in and extra hour in bed, 5 Pumas were meeting up at 8am to travel to Bradford City Centre for the Bradford City Runs – 10k.
All with different hopes and goals for the morning; Matt Newton was aiming to continue his running success with a new 10k personal best, Wendy Hewitt was hoping to beat her previous time at the Bradford 10k in March by 54 seconds to bring her time below 1 hour, Kelly Smith was aiming to set a new personal best after last completing the race 7 years ago, while Leanne Flesher and Olivia Berry were anxiously hoping to successfully complete the 10k course.
After struggling to access the town centre, due to the closed roads and the girls poor directional skills, Matt finally managed to find a suitable parking space. Then it was hoodies off, and a brisk walk to keep warm to Centenary Square. There was just enough time to register, attach numbers, chips and toilet stop before it was time to wait nervously in front of the old Odeon building ready for the start at 9.55am.
The road race included two 5k loops of Bradford City Centre. The course took in City Park, Bradford University, The Broadway and Little Germany. There were some sneaky hills and the 2nd lap was definitely more of a struggle than the first.
Matt was the first Puma across the finish line with a new 10k personal best and position 46 out of 338 runners!
Wendy was second, the clock at the finishing line stated 1hr and 5 seconds, so she was over the moon to receive the official time of 59 minutes and 26 seconds!
Matt and Wendy then found a good finishers photo position to take photos of their team mates as they returned.
Official times were:
- Matt Newton – 45:52
- Wendy Hewitt – 59:26
- Kelly Smith – 1:07:49
- Olivia Berry – 1:09:06
- Leanne Flesher – 1:12:52
Special recognition goes to Kelly, Leanne and Olivia who usually run in groups 5/4 at an average distance of 3 or 4 miles. To sign up and complete the tough 10k race was truly inspirational… well done girls!
The next 10k race in Bradford is the Epilepsy Action Bradford 10k to be held on Sunday 19 March 2017. If you are looking to smash your personal best or try out your first 10k race, this flat race is perfect . The Club will be arranging transport to the race so what are you waiting for, start your training today!