Race report - Lincoln 10Km - 6th April 2025
I've mentioned a few times recently that I was super excited for the race today. Its been hit and miss with regards to training, and I'm certainly not where I hopped to be in terms of preparations, but it is what it is. There was a lot of stuff which went wrong, but there is some stuff I can control, so I might as well try to control that as best I can.
What I really wanted was a good nights sleep before the race, and so after making sure all my gear was ready (above) I headed to bed nice and early at 11pm...
11pm is super early for me by the way!
... and then I just laid there.
Really annoying. I don't know if it was a mixture of excitement or nerves, but I just couldn't get comfortable, and tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. I was rudely awakened by my alarm clock at 7:30, so I presumably fell asleep at some point, but I certainly wasn't well rested!
Nevermind, I'm used to functioning on little sleep, so I guess it was time to crack on and get ready
At least I had all my stuff ready so I could just put it straight on. There was a quick decision to decide whether I was going to were sunglasses or not... so I double checked the weather forecast again...
...yep... definitely sunglasses weather!
The event was due to start at 10am, and I was picked up by my Dad at 8:45. As it is a local event we know all about the busy traffic and the problems parking in previous years. We decided to take a chance and try something different, and so we headed to the car park at Tesco, a nearby supermarket
The car park is free, but is technically for customers only. Dad did say he would pop in the shop on the way back home after the race, so he still be classed as a customer, even if he went to watch the race first!
Tesco is on Wragby Road, and it was a shortish walk through the side streets to get to the start point just outside Yarborough Leisure Centre
I was only in shorts and t-shirt, so it was a little chilly at this point, although the walk did help keep me warm! The route of the race is around the top of Lincoln, so I walked through the roads that were closed in preparation for the race. It was super quiet to begin with, but gradually became busier as I got closer to the crowds... I did find later on that over 4700 people took part today
Like many of the bigger and busier events, there were starting pens, so that people could work out where to stand... I'm no way near sub 35 minute pace... lets head further towards the back!
Ah...sub 1 hour, thats more honest!
When I originally booked this event way back in October last year, I didn't really have a time to aim for, as I wanted to do it for fun, and to enjoy a day spent running the streets with other like-minded people. I think I would have been aiming for sub-50 minutes, but with the recent set backs, I knew that was no longer an option.
This morning, I decided to try to aim for under the hour, and to just go with the flow and see what happens. And if I felt good, then there would always be an option to finish strongly.
There were a lot of people, and even though the event is always busy, it didn't seem particularly well organized. The race should have started at 10:00, but we were still stood here at 10:05, with people on the side still trying to get into position
At 10:00 we finally started to move forwards... there were a couple of fits and starts, but once we crossed the start the , we were away and finally able to start running properly.
The route is pretty flat, and is around the streets at the top of town. Considering I was aiming to get by in under an hour, that would average out at just under 6:00min/km. I was pushed along by the crowds so that I did the first km in 5:39... that felt a little too quick for just starting, especially as I want to enjoy it and not push too hard.
Here is a picture of me actually running in the race - in the bright neon yellow shirt... this must have been taken nearer the start due to the amount of runners around me... and this photo came from from one of my photographer friend, Brian.
Courtesy of
There is a company that had 'official photographers' on the route, and they often charge a pretty penny for some rather uninspiring pictures, so that runners can buy prints.
Fortunately I know several local photographers, some of whom happened to be in the area and decided to take pictures of the local event taking place. One of those happened to be a friend of mine,, who very kindly shared this shot he took while I was actually running... and fair play to him, I actually look pretty reasonable in it!
Back to the race, that sensible voice is probably what made me slow down for the 2nd km in 5:48/km, but then after that I stopped caring what the watch said. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was slowly increasing the pace on each km:
In training, this type of session is referred to as a 'progressive' run, where you start at a slower pace, and gradually increase it each time to finish at a higher pace. I certainly didn't plan this, but instead I was running purely to feel, and I felt good!
I suppose I was also enjoying over taking people. I'd lock in on a person 40 meters ahead and slowly reel him in, and then once I passed, I locked onto a new target, and slowly reeled them in too. It worked though, as I was too preoccupied chasing runners to notice what my watch was saying. The first 3 km seemed to go past so slowly, and then before I knew it I was running past the 8km marker and the end was in sight. If you check that graph above, you'll notice I even managed a sprint finish!
We finished right next to the Cathedral, and as we walked through to Castle Square I was able to pick up a drink, a 'goody bag' along with my medal and T-shirt. I wouldn't normally have bothered with getting the t-shirt as it is usually an expensive optional extra, but it's been so long since I've taken part in an event like this, I decided to treat myself
The 'goody bag' was a bit naff, but then these things usually are... I did enjoy the kit-kat though!
Absolutely heaving with people
I didn't bother hanging around with the crowds. Besides, I knew my Dad would be waiting back at the car by now, so I wound my way back through the crowds towards Tesco. Another 2km walk, which probably helped with a cool-down off sorts, so that I didn't immediately stiffen up
a happy, if slightly gormless selfie!
At this point I still didn't know what my finish time was... I had stopped my watch at 54 minutes and some odd seconds, and was really surprised to receive a text with my finish time about 20 minutes later
Just over 54 minutes! Considering my distinct lack of training I'm pretty pleased with that
And then later on that day, I checked the website for the full results. I found out that I finished in 2026th place out of 4725 runners, so in the top half at least!
Full Results - https://chiptiming.co.uk/events/run-for-all-city-of-lincoln-10k-2025-2025/
It's not all about the time though, even though I am pleased with it. What was more important was that I had a fab day out in the sunshine, sharing the streets with nearly 5000 other runners.
And it is a good thing I enjoyed it, as I already have another even to look forward to. I have entered the Half Marathon on 5th October. It is run by the same company, and is also in Lincoln, and on todays experience, I'm already super excited to get stuck into training.
This one will have a goal time in mind, although I'll talk more about that in due course. The more important thing is that I hope to string together more than 4 weeks of training in arow, so I can actually achieve that goal. It is almost exactly 6 months away, so plenty of time to be as prepared as possible!
Anyway... after a brilliant day out, its now time to crack on with my next challenge - 1/2 Marathon training starts tomorrow!
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