In over a decade of running, I’ve attended a lot of running races. I don’t remember ever being massively dissatisfied, though this
may be something to do with a grudging acceptance that I’m there to run and therefore a bit of suffering is involved. Mile - long queues for toilets my dog would have turned his nose up at and having my name misspelled more times than on my Starbucks cup is all part of the experience.
That being said, I do notice when a race is especially good, and Wednesday nights’ Desborough 10k was pretty special. If I turn up
to future races demanding a post race glass of rosé in a diva-esque fashion,
here's why.
I’ll talk about the post-race refreshments, mostly because you couldn't talk to anyone else without them mentioning it. It wasn’t quite ‘feeding
the 5000’ but over 250 runners were tucking into a delicious hog roast within
15 minutes of finishing so it wasn’t far off. Plus we had water AND wine. I have never finished a race and
been asked: “red, white or rosé?” All of the finishers got a choice between a bottle of top quality wine or a medal. I wish I could say I struggled with that one...
Let’s talk about the race itself (you’d be forgiven for
thinking one hadn’t actually happened with the amount of chat about the food
and drink). The course was a fabulous mix of fields and closed roads.
There was no shortage of friendly marshal’s and the route was so well marked
even I found it impossible to go the wrong way.
The atmosphere…is it just me or, at some races, do the
runners just seem like they don’t want to be there? Well, they definitely
wanted to be at this one; the combination of fabulous food, a very enthusiastic
race director and beautiful surroundings made this the happiest race I have
ever attended. Even the grumpiest runners (You know the type…“How are you?” “Ah,
my knee aches" "I was attacked by a goose yesterday”) were
enjoying themselves.
I haven’t even mentioned the faultless organisation; top quality chip timing, the
super efficient results service, the readily available free photographs (my
worst nightmare, but everyone else enjoyed them ;) and the wonderful social
media coverage. I’ll just say that if anyone wants to organise an event, take note; this is how to put on a running race.
