My first 10k race!

Completing your first 10k race is a milestone worth celebrating, whether you’re a complete running novice or a professional runner. 10k is a test of mental strength, perseverance and dedication. This blog covers my experience of my first 10k road race to show it’s not as scary or as serious as it may seem. From initially signing up to crossing the finish line, I’ll take you through my unforgettable experience. 

As someone who had only been running for a couple of months, everyone thought it was an absurd idea to sign up for a 10k race. For me, it was about setting a goal and showing myself that I could achieve it, as I previously stated, running is partly a mental challenge. The idea of covering 10 kilometres seemed intimidating, although I knew that if I just secured my spot in the race, I would have no choice but to train my hardest until race day arrived. I signed myself up and the countdown was on! I will admit having an athletic family definitely pushed me towards this personal achievement because aswell as my dad signing up, my brother signed up too. I knew that having each others support would keep us motivated and push ourselves to achieve our absolute best.

With about three months until race day, I began to dedicate my training to the upcoming race. Training was tough, some days felt great and others not so much. In saying this, my pace began to improve, and my distances got longer. In addition to running, my dad and I added weekly spin classes to our training routine as a low impact exercise to mix up our training and build strength in our legs.  Beginning to see improvements in my stamina and overall fitness boosted my confidence as race day began to creep up.

The day arrived. Waking up feeling nervous, I was immediately calmed by both my dad and brothers calm collective demeanour. We got ready and headed to the venue, runners were everywhere, and the energy felt high. Standing at the start line, waiting for the klaxon to sound felt like more like three hours rather than three minutes! 12:30pm arrived, 3,2,1 and we’re off! The race began and the first few kilometres felt surreal, carried by the swarm of runners and the crowd's energy, I felt good! However, this didn’t last for long…around halfway through the race, the temperature rose and what seemed like a cool, breezy day turned into a scorching hot day – a runner's nightmare! 

Despite this, I still kept a decent pace and focused on my form. To my delight, I was greeted by my two friends cheering and screaming words of support at the 7k mark. This gave me a snippet of the support I would receive at the finish line, and I kept going! It was the final stretch, and the adrenaline kicked in, the crowd was cheering. I crossed the line feeling an instant wave of accomplishment. As someone who had only began running, I proved to myself that I could do anything I set my mind to, every mile of training was worth it!

I learnt that running a 10k race wasn’t about the race itself, but more the challenge that you set yourself and what you do to achieve it. If you’re in doubt on whether to sign up to a race or not, do it! What’s the worst that could happen? 

Kirsty x