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Saturday 15 July 2017

Greno Chase 2017

A while back one of our circle of running friends pointed out the Greno Chase - a 5k road race just up the road from us on a Friday evening?  Sounds ideal!  This year it also didn't clash with Tramlines so it was easier to get people to sign up, even if some were reluctant... We ended up with 4 of us in Team Monkey Business - Me, Andy, Kelly and Liz.

As the event drew closer the thought of doing a 5k race after a hard week of work seemed much less sensible, especially as 3 of us had found this to be the week where Half Marathon training plans had us doing Cooper Tests which are never pleasant, and there had also been the regular climbing sessions  in the evenings including a trip outdoors.  Some last minute frantic planning on Thursday evening saw the important parts arranged - the logistics of how to get beer and meat to Andy's for a post run barbecue. Come Friday and we headed up to Andy's got changed, and walked up to the start.  There were many complaints about sore legs, and much discussion of how slow we were all expecting to go, but registration was swift and soon we were avoiding the communal warm up - I never saw it actually happen, so maybe everyone had the same idea.


The course is a relatively simple one, being a triangular circuit, 2 laps starting and finishing midway up one of the straights.  From my brief attempt to study the course it looked like 2 sides were uphill, and one downhill, so my aim was to take it steady on the hills and belt it down the last side, though I was also hoping to get an average pace of between 4:30/km and 4:45/km.

Soon it was in to the pen ready for the start and after a few announcements we had a 10 second countdown and we were off. Now my experience of mass start events has been Hillsborough Parkrun, so I was expecting a bit of a shuffle until people spread out and then having to pick up the pace to make up for it.  This didn't happen, the start was ultra fast and I got swept up in it, my last comment to Liz before leaving her to run her own race was along the lines of "B****y Hell, that was a fast start!".

Uphill out of the park and we turn right along Main Street, the crowds were out in force and it was a fantastic feeling to be running on a closed road with people on all sides cheering us on. A sharp left on to Stephen Lane at one of the many pubs on the route saw us hit with a bit more of a climb, and I was continuing to overtake people here and worrying that I was overcooking it as there was a fair way to go before the downhill.  I'd caught Andy up by this point, and we kept trading positions for most of the race - he was gaining on me uphill, I was pelting past him on the downhills initially then he caught me, and then I'd pull away again.

As we climbed out of Greno, I saw the downhill start much earlier than I expected and I picked up pace towards the corner and took it fast before belting down the hill and taking kilometre 2 in 4 minutes dead - fastest ever km for me.  Dropping back in to Grenoside we pass the Cow and Calf, loads of kids were lining the route holding hands pout for a high five so of course I indulged, indeed I tried to get everyone I could on the race - absolutely loved the community support. Onto what in my head was the Main Straight the uphill started again, very gently at first but slowly increasing.  The crowds were growing again, loads of cheering, and passing the start/finish there was water on hand but I didn't feel I needed it at that point, and I was running too hard to take it on board again.

Lap two went much like lap one, though a little slower due to tiredness. Special recognition to the kids on the corner of Stephen Lane and Graven Close who were giving out drinks, I didn't need one but I thanked them anyway. I fought up the hill knowing where the downhill was again, and caught Andy up who was suffering a little, encouraging him on as the crest of the hill was in sight but I'm not sure he had anything left to reply with. I took the downhill as fast as I dared, conscious of the fact I still had to drag myself up Main Street to get to the finish. I found myself being chased up the road by a double decker bus which had decided it was time to move regardless of the fact the race was still underway but I wasn't going to get out of it's way. Before I knew it I was turning in to the park, Kelly already finished cheering me on. I had nothing left to go any faster so when someone came storming past me all I could do was congratulate them and cheer them over as I followed them home.

Over the line, stop the watch, grab a medal, look at my time.  Watch says 21:15 at 4:38/km average pace - fantastic! That would have been a 5k PB if it had been 500 metres longer.  As I grabbed a bottle of water and walked to meet Kelly I saw Andy running home not 30 seconds behind me and so shouted him home, then it was a sit down and short wait for Liz to come through, entering the finish straight at speed and soon over the line.  Official results are not yet in, but looking at a handy Strava Segment results for us are as follows:

  1. Kelly - 17:56
  2. Me - 20:33
  3. Andy - 21:03
  4. Liz - 25:25
Fantastic times for all of us given it was a Friday evening and we were all grumbling beforehand.  I really enjoyed my first road race on closed roads with big crowds, and will be looking for more of them as the energy of the crowd was a great motivator.



Once we had all cooled down a touch it was time for the walk back down the hill to Andy's for beer and bbq.  Half way down the hill we were all getting chilly, so by the time we were changed and sat outside many blankets were required, some rain turned up too but we persisted and had a very enjoyable evening before heading inside to catch up on the Tour de France. Next running event? Looks like being a 15k run to the pub in August for Kelly's birthday.


EDIT: Results are no up, 40th out of 129 for me which I am really pleased with. Kudos to Kelly for his 9th place finish!

  • Kelly: 9th place (18:32)
  • Me: 40th place (21:10)
  • Andy: 50th place (21:40)
  • Liz: 94th place (26:19)

Good work Team Monkey Business!

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