I headed down to Dumfries this evening for the 5 mile Hollywood Stroll race. It’s not quite as glamorous as it sounds, following quiet country roads on the outskirts of Dumfries. The course itself is undulating which makes it hard to get into a steady rhythm and the wind also meant my splits were all over the place.
The race was 15 minutes late in starting due to a larger than expected number of runners. Not ideal since I hadn’t had any tea and was getting hungry so just wanted to get going as soon as possible! About 350 entrants eventually lined up on the start line. I started up near the front and by the time we were 200m in I was in the lead. By the end of the first mile I had built up a good lead and with a strong headwind I eased up a bit until about 2.75 miles in. Once the course turned I had a quick look round and could see the second placed runner from Dumfries some way behind. I knew from my average pace that I wouldn’t be getting a PB but knowing I was in a strong position for my first win of the year and picked up the pace in the last couple of miles and finished strongly in 27:05, a minute or so ahead of second place. Good selection of food at the finish line including yogurt drinks and trifles in the sun made for a good nights work. Only downside was that I had to run off before the prizegiving to pick up the wee man from my parents’ and get back up the road, cant have it all though I suppose!!
