The Queensburgh 10km

After a poor night’s sleep Sharon and I were up, and on our way, to her first 10kms – the Queensburgh 10km. She was nervous, but we got her to the starting line, and soon we were jogging casually down the road. It was an easy start and the first 4kms were all downhill. Sharon was cruising nicely at 5:40 a km, but things were soon to change. What I hadn’t realized about this race, is that its earned the nickname, “The Mineshaft”. At 4kms we started climbing, and it carried on for the next 6kms. Ouch!! Not an easy course for your first 10kms. However, Sharon climbed well until about the 7 or 8km mark, when the pain set in…

I had to laugh when, at the 9km mark, I said to her, “Looks like that’s the end of the hills. We’re above the finish line now so it should all be downhill from here.” Then, as we rounded the corner, there was one of the steepest hills I’ve seen in my life. It would be unfair of me to type her response here – lets just say it wasn’t pretty.

Anyway, after this steep climb it WAS all downhill to the finish, and we crossed the line in a respectable 1:09. Well done Sharon, I’m very proud of you. And even better news, she’s keen to run the Forest Hill’s 10km in two weeks time. (Oh, by the way, the insert in the photo is the profile of the route.)

From my side, I seem to be picking up a niggle in the left knee – it must be from the mad pace Sharon set for us. Lets just hope its not from my new shoes. They’re the same model as my old pair so I think I just need a little bit of rest, and can hopefully still run the Sardine half marathon next weekend.