FLYING MONK MALMESBURY 10K 2017

The Flying Monk Malmesbury 10km took place on Sunday 27th August 2017.

Taking place on a beautiful, very hot day. All runners received a #freebeer from Flying Monk Brewery at the finish line.

Online entry price: £15.00 affiliated, £17.00 unaffiliated. Day entries available at £18.00 affiliated, £20.00 unaffiliated. Run by DBmax, your entry included:

Chip timing.
Marshfield Bakery Flapjacks for all competitors.
Proto-col nutrition for all finishers and a chance to win prizes worth over £100.
Bottled water at the finish for all competitors supplied by Co-op Malmesbury.
Distance markers every km.
Medal for all finishers.
Beginner friendly racing.
Results screens and Results Print Outs.
Race Photography

Route

Described as: “An undulating route with approx. 1.5k of the route off road down the “Old Fosse Way”, the oldest Roman Road in the country, the rest being run on the quiet country roads surrounding Malmesbury.” If I could describe this race it would be HILLY.

The route involved one big loop of the surrounding country roads out of Malmesbury. It starts at the football club as you swing out and starting making your way out of the town and on the start of the first amount of hills.

You run about 1km before venturing out into the countryside. A very scenic route, it really gave you a good view of Malmesbury and the countryside. The first half of the race felt like it was a continually climb uphill before you got to around 6km mark.

The 5km point admittedly was an interesting part of the race, with a 180 degree turning point down the very steep “off the track” path. I don’t think I saw a single person running up or down this part, everyone was walking because it felt so steep. At the beginning of this hill and the end (as the route looped up and down to make up for the 5km) you were greeted by the water station.

These plastic cups were only filled up just under half way, with the heat of the day, I felt like I could have had a bit more water in the cups as it was so hot!!

8.5km onwards starts going downhill. It starts heading back into Malmesbury, this was a welcome part of the route as you head down into town and into the finish. This I think is everyone’s favourite bit of the race as you can really start bringing up your pace, and make up for the slow time getting up the hills.

The course was very clearly marked at every kilometre, and marshalled very well. The marshals were all very friendly and encouraging, especially at the water station.

The course itself is by no means flat, as I have repeated several times. The course was great in terms of the fact that it is one big loop, no laps needed; it’s very scenic and quiet/calm. The hills weren’t fun at all, but this was not helped by how hot it was on the day. For hill training, this is a good route. It is completely doable; you can definitely aim for a hilly PB.

Race

It was a beautiful, very hot and very sunny day; with the race starting at 11, it was slowly becoming the peak heat of the day. If I could have any request, it would be an earlier start in the day.

The event was very well done and organised, very clear instructions for the beginning. There were also pacers from 50 minutes to 65mins (I wish they did up to 70), but to have a 10km race with pacers is always a great inclusion in races.

Although the roads were open when you were running, there weren’t many cars overtaking. It was really nice to have an open road race and not be worried about avoiding the cars.

Personally, I have never seen so many people walking on a 10km course. From 2-3km onwards I was overtaking lots of walkers and at one stage I had to start walking at around 3.5km – something I am quite disappointed with in my run this day.

The finish was lovely with a big group of spectators and good PA system naming all the runners are they came across the finish line, if there isn’t a fact about the runner being read out, they will say something about your finishing run.

You also received your unique medal from the mayor of Malmesbury, which was quite a nice personal touch for the race.

The finish, again, my favourite out of all the races I have taken part in. Water, flapjacks (three different flavours); vegan options and gummy worms!!

Results are available immediately (as they always are with DBmax races), you can print them out on the day. The results are also live that day sent via email and photos available a few days later to purchase.

It was a very well run event, DBmax definitely know how to put on their events. I will keep doing their runs because they are so organised and a good day.

Personal race

Personally, I did not have a good race, time wise, it wasn’t my worst time for a 10km. Learning from my dissertation, any temperatures 24 degrees + already means a 2% decrease in performance.

As I said earlier, I walked at 3.5km for the hill and then for the 5km hill and a little bit at the 7km hill just because I was walking faster than I was running. I am disappointed that I did walk, 10km is a training run nowadays and I can usually run this with no problem, but this day I just struggled. I say this as if it is surprising, if you put hills and heat into a race, it’s an automatic struggle for me.

I did enjoy having chats with people during the race, it was really encouraging when you were both struggling with part of the hill, and you could have a chat and get each other through it.

The finish was great, as you start to run into the village on the last 9km, all of the residents are out on the street cheering you on and treating you like a local, which is lovely. All of the finished competitors are walking back to their car (#noshameinbeingslow) and cheering you on which is really encouraging for your last bit of the race.

I completed it in 1:12, which for a 10km isn’t my worst time for that distance given the circumstances, but not my best.

I would maybe attempt this race again, to give me some hill training and conquer the race on a different day! (maybe cooler). It is a good race for all levels, the hills are hard for beginners but you feel great once you have finished. Coming away from the race, although I struggled during the race, I am glad I completed it!