After the ups and downs of the last 18 months it was great to finally get back to racing on the track. What better place to start than at the recent Midland Masters Championships at the Pingles Leisure Complex in Nuneaton.
As well as racing myself, I also had two of my athletes competing. First to take to the track was Malcolm in the M55 800m. Some excellent running and pace judgement from Malcolm saw him take a well deserved silver in a time of 2:22.64. A couple of hours later and Malcolm was back on the track for his 400m. This time he went one better, taking gold in a time of 63.16. This was a great start to the season and gives us plenty to build on for the rest of the year.
Focus on the job in hand
In between Malcolm’s two races, Emma stepped out for her first ever 5000m track race. After having to take an extended break from running due to diagnosis of a health condition, this race was just about going out to enjoy the experience of racing again. Emma ran a controlled race, not tempted to be pulled along by the faster runners at the front of the pack too early in the race. This resulted in a strong finish at the end of the 12 and a half lap race with the added bonus of a gold medal in the W45 category.
I was able to watch the closing stages of Emma’s race at close quarters while preparing for my own 5000m, my first track race since winning silver at the World Masters Games in Turin in 2019. The temperature at Nuneaton, while warm was thankfully way short of the 37 degrees of Turin! I was delighted to come away from the race with gold in the M55 category in a time of 17:16.84. However, I will let you into a secret. I wanted to stop and pull out after 600m and I expect I am not the only runner who has faced negative thoughts on their first race back after so many months without racing. I had to do what I tell all of my endurance athletes in this situation; focus, get into a rhythm and settle down to the job in hand.
All in all it was a great day and a positive start to the season for us all. Are you a masters athlete? Or are 35+ and want to find out more about racing in masters events? If so get in touch to see how I can help. You can email or message me via our socia media platforms.