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Wistow 10K
This year’s Wistow 10k took place on Sunday 25th October 2015 and 3 Hyde Park Harriers took on the challenge – James Vickers, Scott Watson and Mick Mason.
The course is all on road and flat, ideal for a fast run, following a figure of 8 loop that runs south from Wistow – a village just north of Selby, North Yorkshire – then winds round east and back north-west towards Wistow to finish at the village school. Conditions were perfect on the day, clear blue skies, a bit of a breeze but light enough, temperature slightly higher than a late October day but good for running. Registration and number collection was very easy, with the local leisure centre acting as race HQ, with parking right on the grounds.
The race attracts around 200-300 runners each year, although this year it was slightly below the 200 mark, with many familiar faces and other running clubs present. Scott Watson decided to go fast from the start and led the runners out of the village as the course quickly enters the countryside. The route was very well marshalled and clearly marked, with kilometre markers, and a water station at the 5k point. The flat nature of the course means you can see quite far ahead of you and gauge your distance from the runners quite far in front.
Despite being flat, it is still a challenging 10k, as you have to keep a steady, consistent stride over the distance, with no downhills to get respite, but of course that means there are no major hills to take on! The last kilometre takes the runners back into the village and a chance to empty the tank with a final sprint to the line. The winning time was 33:13 by John Hobbs from Valley Striders, with the Hyde Park Harriers results being Scott Watson coming in 9th place in a time of 36:55, James Vickers was 45th in 41:34, and Mick Mason 151th in 58:44. The race memento was a choice between a water bottle, or a red buff-style neck warmer/headband, of which the latter seemed more popular.
Overall, if you’re after a quick and flat road 10k to test your pace that’s reasonably near Leeds and is well organised and supported on-route, then this is a race to consider for your racing calendar next year!
Thanks to Scott for the report.