If there is one race that I am always comfortable with it is the 10km race, 5km’s for me have always been a bit of a struggle, as it sometimes takes a mile or two for me to get into a good rhythm so by the time I am able to focus on the race, it is over. Whereas half marathon upwards is much more a mental endeavour than a physical one, if you can train to near the distance your body will be fine, but you can’t tell your brain that. So when I found out there was a 10km race in November I am very much up for it. Enter Mo Running.
Running in Autumn and Winter is my jam, it is a bit colder and you know you need to work a bit faster to stay warm and that then helps you run faster and PB’s are bound to come. In theory at least… So when browsing the November race listings The Mo Running race caught my eye as it is being held on the Stormont grounds and I have ran a couple of races around there and I loved the idea of running a route around there entirely for the reason of I know I am good at running on hills, my legs are used to these and I have always coped well running uphill I think the reason for this is because I can adjust my running to suit it. I found I still had this when I ran the Larne 10k as they had a very short but very steep hill and I was able to keep going without stopping or walking as if you start walking on a hill, you are more likely to lose a good bit of time.
The race
Let’s talk about the actual race itself. The race is on Sunday 25th November at Stormont. There will be a number of races on the day as well, so if you feel you are not ready for a 10km race then luckily for you there is also the 5km race and if you want to bring the family then you can bring the children along for the Mini Mo Run which is a 1.5km route, so just under 1 mile!
The Mini Mo Run begins at 9.30am, the 5km at 10.00am and the 10km at 10.10am. I like it when races spread out the start times as then no one has to bunch together and worry about pace as some 5km runners are lightning fast and! For pack collection, that will occur near the start line so make sure you arrive a little early to get everything you need pre-race as the registration closes at 9.45am to leave time for a fun warm up with the organisers.
I know I want to get back under 1 hour with my 10km distance and I will be eyeing this race up to get as close as I can, despite the hill, I know it is a possible for the additional fact is that as you go uphill, it means you will also have to do downhill. So for the next month, I will be posting for the next few Sundays pre-race about my training. With there being a couple of races for me in November I know I want to be in as good a place as possible for MoRunning as possible, so using other races throughout the month as training runs for this race will put me in a good place as I can see how my progress is for my goal. I hope to get near my goal for the race, but really anything under 1 hr 4 mins is good with me.
I won’t be running alone
I will be running with Victoria and I will be making sure she will be running hills regularly so she can get as close to her PB or beat it. This will be a bit different for her and really for myself as I have never trained someone on hills and I haven’t trained on hills so much. Unluckily for us I will make sure we will be cross training as one great way to get prepared for hills is to put your legs through the ringer on the road, paths, but also in the gym on a bike or stepper. I really like using the stepper as it gets all the right muscles working for the incline. So I hope she joins me on that, but the first she will learn of this is from this post… Oops. We have just under a month so it is very possible that we can get there. Follow me for the next few Sundays and let’s see how we do!
I want as many people possible to run with me and if we can all chat about our training it would be great so luckily MoRunning have provided me with a discount code for anyone interested in taking part in the Belfast event, so enter “MR18_BlogBelfast” on the website and you’ll get 10% off your entry price for either the MiniMo, 5k or 10k race. For more information about the race, please click on the link here to find out more. If you are not in Belfast but want to know if there is a race near you please look here to look for the closest race! If there are no races near you then you can still sign up for a MoRace as they have a virtual race option for you and you will still get a medal and a headband upon completion so everyone is a winner! Well, finisher! Hurray!
As MoRunning is used to fundraise for The Movember Foundation I want to let you know that they want to achieve their target of £50,000 for this year. I hope you will help them with as it is an important cause. So come along on Sunday 25th November for any of the races and join me on a nice run through Stormont Estate!
Disclaimers I received a free entrance fee for the race for this post (but because it is for charity I have donated my entrance fee to the organisers). I will not receive any money from the price of the code, this is just an additional code to get you a bit more money off the fee.
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Scott H Gilliland 