Blakedown Bolt 2008
10Km Race Report

By Lesley Carr

We prayed, we crossed our fingers, we hardly dared to look at the weather forecasts, but in the end the powers
that be were on our side. Not a drop of rain for this year’s Bolt, and at times we even had some rays of sunshine!
How different to last year when it felt like half the course was a mudbath.

Once again, it was a sell-out race, despite the fact that we’d increased the entrant numbers to 300.
It seems, if you want to be a Blakedown Bolter, you’ve got to get in early.

Our course was pretty much the same, though we’d added an extra loop on the field at the start to try and
help space out the crowds. Several runners have pointed out that this nudged our distance to something
like 10.6km – whoops! Well, we like to think we give you good value for money… perhaps we’ll find a way of
adjusting things next year.

The other change we made was the addition of a water feature about 7km into the run.
The majority of reaction to this has been hugely positive, though our marshals at the crossing did report a little bit
of reluctance from a few runners. On balance though it looks like the splash section will re-appear next year.

We know that the Bolt attracts a wide range of runners – lots of experienced and dedicated club runners did the Bolt,
plus a few who are quite new to the whole experience. As one participant put it, it’s probably not the best 10km to
do as your first. However, another beginner told me she loved it, despite never having run more than 5km before the evening!

A notable entry came from Amazing Feet’s Richard Baker. Richard has set himself a mammoth challenge –
to complete 30 races in the 30 days of June, something he thinks has never been attempted before.
At the Blakedown Bolt he came of age, with his 21st race. We were thrilled to be included in the challenge and wish
Richard all the best for the rest. We think he’ll need one by the end of the month!

We’ve already had some great comments, and some really constructive suggestions for improvement.
Please add yours to the mix by emailing lesleycarr@blueskyassociates.co.uk

Overall men’s fastest time came from Ben Danvers of Kidderminster & Stourport AC who
set a course record of 38.56, and the fastest lady was Susan Howarth of Mercia Fell Runners (47.38)

This year we added an extra vets category to both the men’s and women’s sections, plus a team prize
for the first club to get four runners home, which was won by Stourbridge Running Club. Maybe a Ladies Team Prize
for next year would be in order?

Category Winners

Ladies 1 Susan Howarth Mercia Fell Runners

Ladies 2 Beth Young Halesowen AC

Ladies 3 Linda Howell Bournville Harriers

F35+ Jane Staite Telford Harriers

F45+ Hilary Crook Kidderminster & Stourport AC

Lady villager Rebecca Stackhouse

Gents 1 Ben Danvers Kidderminster & Stourport AC

Gents 2 Mark Garrett Road Runners Club

Gents 3 Simon Link Stourbridge Running Club

M40+ Ian Keyte Bromsgrove & Redditch AC

M50+ David Daniels Cobra RC

Gent Villager Alex Morgan