| Race Details | |
|---|---|
| Event | GLCL 2017 Road Race Series Race 1 of 5 - Parc Bryn Bach |
| Date & Time | 02 May 2017 19:30:00 |
| Type | Leisure League |
| Position | 92 of 502 |
The Gwent Leisure Centre League is one of the highlights of the racing
calendar for me (well, the road races are at least). It’s a free series of ten
races for club runners in Gwent, five road races between May and August and five
cross country races between October and March. It can get really competitive,
but in the best possible way 
. The road races are always on a Tuesday
evening so usually I can make all the races. As a club we really get involved in
the series, we always have a great turnout and we finish every race with a pile
of cakes 
. This was no exception. The first race of the series this year
was at Parc Bryn Bach in Tredegar. This is the furthest away venue, but there
were runners everywhere! There were a total of 502 runners and also a huge
number of supporters, which is the greatest number so far!
Everyone was buzzing and ready to start the road race season in style. After a
quick group photo, everyone joined the mass heading to the start line and, with
a very quick set of notices from Parc Bryn Bach Running Club (this events
organisers), we were off! As usual, I feel the pack moved off at a pace far
quicker than is ideal, but I managed to settle into a comfortable pace fairly
quickly. I would describe the course as ‘undulating’, although this may be a
slight understatement. There are two laps of the golf course, which involves a
large hill at the beginning and a small hill towards the end, and a lap of the
lake in between. It’s a tough course, but actually quite an enjoyable one in my
opinion. Just after the first hill, I actually managed to achieve what I thought
was impossible…I overtook Keith Gittins . I’ve been trying to do that
for years, and this year I finally managed it. Unfortunately, I was not running
any better than last year so I’m guessing he was having a bad run 
.
Ah well, better luck next time.
I felt really good all the way round the golf course and the lake. I seemed to
bekeeping a good pace, which was nice given I had no real fire where my fitness
levelswere at the start. On the second lap, however, I started to slow slightly
onthe first hill, and started to lose positions shortly after. Even so, I feel I
had a great run and I’m very happy with my current fitness level
It was a great first race of the series and it was amazing to see so many purple
vests/t-shirts (CRC runners) both on the course and supporting those
running. After the race, we all gathered outside the visitors centre for the
largest selection of cakes I’ve seen outside of a large bakery! As a club, we
also managed to pick up three awards from the cross country season .
It was a great night!