Where St Albans
When January 20, 2008
First Man James Lawler 53:52
First Woman Kerry Mackay 1:02:17
Last Finisher 2:02:52
No. of Finishers 911
The St Albans Striders succeeded in putting on another popular Fred Hughes 10-mile race when 1,200 competitors took on this challenging and rural course near the historic city.
A lack of toilet facilities before the race was problematic for many competitors, even those who had arrived early at the race headquarters at the Francis Bacon School.
Congestion along the two-metre-wide path also caused some minor grievances at the start, but the track soon opened out into a predominantly flat course. Recent bad weather made for slippery conditions on the boggy mud, potholes and twists and turns of the course, reducing the chances of a PB for many competitors.
The marshalling, however, was of the first order and loud encouragement spurred on many heavy-legged runners at more challenging points along the course.
The local police also did a great job of managing the traffic on the road sections, leaving runners free to concentrate on the challenging terrain and looping course that took them both off- and
on-road.
This event looks set to grow in popularity, and managing the race facilities to keep up with the number of competitors will be vital to its future success.
