Where Catton Hall, Tamworth
When April 26, 2008
First Man Daniel Lewis 34:20
First Woman Julia Down 38:08
Last Finisher 1:12:56
No. of Finishers 48
If size is your primary guide to quality racing then you’re missing out on some gems. Take, for instance, the Wiggle Thunder Run 10K, which was held for the first time this year, and was run in the leafy surrounds of Catton Hall Park just north of Birmingham. While it was numerically small, organisationally it was anything but.
Showers, ample flushing toilets, catering, chip timing and a free massage service were all part of the basic infrastructure, and the running wasn’t bad either. Although that might depend on your perspective.
'Challenging' is the euphemism that many of the runners used to describe
a route that snaked up and down a series of short, sharp muddy hills and weaved
in and out of wooded fields carpeted in bluebells and rapeseed.
The facilities
and the course were laid out for a mass mountain bike race taking place the following day, which explains the mud
and the hills.
Although only a 10K debutant would have run a PB on this course, most runners crossed the finish line with smiles on their faces, raving about the race.
Then again, that could have been down to the to abundant gifts handed out at the finish, which made the £18 entry fee a surprising bargain.
When word spreads, the field will surely have no trouble reaching its 500-runner target for next year.
