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Family bonding, sporting icons, a great finish and lots of food at the Run Reigate 10K

Name: Run Reigate

Where: Reigate, Surrey

Distance: Yes, it’s shockingly 10k

Sponsors: Jellyfish, Intersport, and others.

Terrain: Undulating, Road

My Time: 55:27 (Official)

It was a new experience for me this year because I usually run the Run Reigate Half Marathon but because my injury hindered my training this year, I had to settle for something a little shorter! So I decided to do the 10k distance which was a great first event back and I am definitely making a comeback with a new post-injury P.B and feeling great!

Dad and I decided that we would get some father-daughter bonding time in and run together (with our headphones in of course haha!) and it helped to have a running partner to motivate me going round since I had forgotten what running an event was like!

The Bad

It’s not very often I am happy with an entire day but this one was so close! Genuinely a great day all round, if I had to pick something it would be the weather – now this is a double-edged sword because as you can see from the pictures it is nice and sunny, however personally I hate running in the sun because I am always boiling anyways so I much prefer a bit more overcast (there are just no pleasing some people!).

The Good

The atmosphere is always incredible at the Run Reigate, with people, clubs and teams cheering you on throughout the course and people along the route come out of their houses to stand on the side of the road (some even have sweeties and drinks – shout out to you amazing people!) As it is closed roads it’s a fantastic community feeling and a great experience to all run together without worrying about traffic etc and the encouragement is always welcomed, especially for new runners trying their first events (or those getting back into it!)

Also, the course had a few changes from last year but I am a glutton for punishment and love a challenge so I quite enjoyed the cheeky hills near the end – (we were definitely digging in deep to get to the top)

One of my main highlights of the day was the arrival of Dame Kelly Holmes who helped the local British Military Fitness to run the warm-up, sounded the klaxon and watched both the 10k and the half (and probably posed for pictures with a billion people!) You can see a sneaky shot of her in one of the pictures (I was far too tired to get a selfie!) but it was amazing to see her there and really inspiring as she is one of my running idols!

The spectators were definitely well taken care of this year as well with a range of local businesses showing off their services and the Jellyfish Food Festival that my boys definitely put to good use! (see below for pics!)

Ultimately I loved the 10k distance this year and in the words of Goldilocks, it was just right for what I needed. It has definitely put a spring in my step for my training for the rest of the year.

My next target

I am aiming to beat my Kenley 10k time of 50:58 and hopefully break 50 minutes, however since Kenley is a completely flat course I have a little way to before achieving that!

The rest of the day

After the race we were pretty tired and after watching people cross the line we went in search of food and managed to soak up some of the sun (that I was moaning about earlier) before heading back home! – I may or may not have also had a nap as well!

As you can see, my little chap was helpful in thoroughly sampling the food festival:

Some pictures from the day!

One of the things I enjoy about these organised running events is that you get a rare glimpse at how horrendous you look while running! This time around I was pleasantly surprised by (most) of the photos so here are some of my fav’s from the run! Courtesy of Sussex Sport Photography.

*The Run Reigate is a fantastic event but the real heroes are the volunteers, organisers, and helpers who freely give up their time to help make it a fantastic, safe and wonderful day so THANK YOU!!*