Introduction:
The Sneyd 10 Mile Christmas Pudding Run was my first ever dedicated 10 mile event (you can read how I performed here).
I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the event as it was run by a local running club and I hadn’t really seen much advertisement for it. With that being said, this was the 33rd year of the run, so it must be fairly popular!
The weather on the day was better than expected. All week it had threatened light rain from 7am until 2pm. On the day, however, there were a couple of really short, light spells of rain, but nothing too troublesome.
The event had two variations: 5 mile or 10 mile. Like most multi-distance races, the 10 mile event was two laps of the 5 mile course.
It’s important to note that race numbers are not posted out for this event. Instead, they must be collected from 8am on the morning of the event. I wasn’t too happy when I found this out. It meant that I had to arrive earlier than planned, which wasn’t really an issue, but I just like to be prepared ahead of time. I did get my race bib magnets ready but I forgot them at the last minute. Luckily, safety pins were provided. Collecting my number was a lot easier than I expected and it was a quick process.
Another important point is that there is a cut off time of 2:30.
Pacers:
There were no official pacers at this event.
The Course:
The course wasn’t closed to traffic, however the roads weren’t overly busy. At no point did I have to wait to cross a road. All of the roads that did need to be crossed were quiet side streets. As it was an open road race, only bone conducting earphones were permitted by UKA rules.
Most of the event was on concrete footpaths, however certain parts of the course were run on uneven muddy paths. These parts of the course were quite narrow and extremely hard to overtake. A few times I made the decision to check the coast was clear and used the road to overtake.
There were a number of large puddles on the course. At one point, a Sneyd Striders runner took the lead to run in the road. He slowed the traffic as there was a giant puddle and everyone would have ended up soaked if a car was to pass through it at speed!
It was a relatively flat course, with a few small inclines, but nothing noticeable. There was one significant downhill section, which was fun to pick up some speed.
I actually quite enjoyed the course, especially for an open road event. The second lap seemed to fly-by!
Aid Stations:
Water was provided in plastic cups at around the 3 mile mark and then just after mile 5. As it was a looped course, you pass the station at mile 3 twice and then the one at mile 5 is also available just after the finish line.
Entertainment:
There was no entertainment on the course, nor at the start / finish area.
Atmosphere:
The atmosphere at the start line was great, with runners shouting “Oggy, Oggy, Oggy” through the first tunnel area.
There were marshals around the course who gave a lot of encouragement and ensured runners stayed on the correct route.
Despite it being a bit cold out, there were still a handful of spectators on the course. Mainly people who had come out of their houses onto their front drive to watch. Cars passing by also beeped their horns in support and cheered runners on.
Goodie Bag:
Upon entering the Sneyd Association Community Sports Hall each finisher was given a small paper bag with the Sneyd 10 Mile Pudding Run logo printed on the front. Each bag contained a banana, a random fun-sized chocolate bar (I got a Toffee Crisp), a microwaveable brownie pudding, and a few leaflets for local companies. I really liked the bag, and it was great to see the use of a paper bag instead of plastic!
T-shirt and Medal:
Unfortunately when I got into the Sports Hall there were only medium and large t-shirts left. I picked up a medium, which was disappointing as I really liked the colour and feel of the t-shirt. The Sneyd 10 Mile Pudding Run logo took centre stage on the t-shirt and I liked that there wasn’t a tonne of sponsors scattered across it. I appreciated the bright yellow colour, especially for winter training runs as it is important to be seen.
The medal design has grown on me. I wasn’t too keen when I saw the Facebook reveal before the event, but it is kind of cute. The ribbon is the colours of the Sneyd Striders running club. It also has the name of the run on it, which is a nice touch. I do prefer it when medals have the distance covered on them, however the same medal was given to the Sneyd 5 mile and Sneyd 10 mile finishers.
Race Photography:
The start and the first corner were recorded, with the videos being posted to Facebook. There were also over 500 photos from the event posted onto the Sneyd Striders Facebook page. I managed to appear in one photo which is shown below. It was a nice touch to have free video and images provided.
Overall:
I really, really enjoyed the Sneyd 10 Mile event! I didn’t like the idea of having to collect my race number on the morning of the event, but it turned out to be a painless experience! There were plenty of marshals whom were all very supportive. Water was provided at adequate points on the course. Despite the course being open to traffic, I experienced no delays or issues. The course was better than I had expected, and the fact it was two laps didn’t bother me at all.
Medals were given out as soon as you crossed the finishing line. Goodie bags and t-shirts were collected back in the Sports Hall, past another water station. It was disappointing that there were no small t-shirts available. The goodie bag was really good though, especially for a smaller scale event.
I’m not sure about the 10 mile distance… it made a great training run but now I really want to run my half marathon to try and get sub-2:30!
I would definitely recommend the Sneyd 10 Mile event to others and I’m very likely to enter it again next year.
Photos:
