Many runners set out at the start of each year with one aim... 

To record new personal bests at all of the traditional road running distances, namely 5K, 10K, 10 miles, half marathon and marathon. 

The term ‘holy grail’ has been coined by my Wymondham AC club-mate James Heaney, who does such a sterling job in a lot of the social media content he puts out for the club. 

I feel quietly proud that I’ve managed to attain the holy grail in 2024... and I’ve accepted that I’m probably not going to better any of the times I’ve posted this year.  

It’s time to start building for a bigger and better 2025. 

But that doesn’t mean I’m happy to just let the rest of the year peter out. So, when the opportunity arose last week to run a 5K race, I jumped at the chance. 

Matt Webster is just one 5K away from also achieving the holy grail and has been scouring the internet for weeks now looking for potential events he can better the 16:40 he posted at Wroxham in 2023. 

He decided on the Remembrance 5K run at Debden Airfield near Saffron Walden where other events including a 1 mile (primarily for children), 10K and half marathon were also taking place. 

He wanted some company... I said if he promised we could stop for coffee on the way then I was in... 

The forecast looked kind, crucial when you’re thinking of running around an airfield! 

I’ve been trying to build back up to a bit of speed in my training recently and I felt excited to use it as a bit of a benchmark to see how that was developing. My autumn marathons in Helsinki and Berlin had clearly given me a good endurance base but I came off them feeling a little sluggish when I tried to increase the pace. 

We arrived in plenty of time and even accommodated the bizarre concept of a warm-up. 

This was a 5K – and I love the beautiful simplicity to this distance, especially when you’re using it as a benchmark. Tactics: Go out hard... and hang on. 

And that’s exactly what unfolded. About 400m in and my watch showed that I was running at 3:30-minute kilometre pace – I might have been a little in the dark over what my current 5K pace was but I knew this wasn’t sustainable... just as it wasn’t for the 20-odd people in front of me. 

I held back a little and settled into around 3:40-minute kilometre pace. Deeply uncomfortable, yet sort of sustainable – treading that fine line is key when trying to run a flat-out 5K. 

The first 2K flew by... it always does. Then it all suddenly feels more difficult.  

The lactic acid gradually accumulates, and the legs don’t turn over in the same way. 

Everything is telling me to slow down. I acknowledge those thoughts – but understand they’re merely trying to keep me safe. 

I distract myself by focusing on the next runner in front of me and start playing a game of how many I can catch and overtake. 

Somehow it gets me through the the 4K mark. I think of something YouTuber/running coach Nick Bester says – the last kilometre never counts. 

I know that, all being well, I’ve got less than four minutes of discomfort. I try and maintain the 3:40-ish minute pace and say to myself when I can see the finish line then I’ll empty the tank. 

I glimpse the big inflatable arch at the finish line and push as hard as I can. I tell myself not to look at my watch, just concentrate on getting over the line – plenty of time for checking out my watch after. 

I burst through the finish line and desperately seek some sort of railing I can throw myself over. There isn’t one, so I settle for resting on my haunches before finally checking my watch: 18:40. 

I’ll take that – a top 10 finish, third in my age category and five seconds off my personal best set at Wroxham earlier this year.  

Matt was tantalisingly close to his PB – recording 16:45 (third overall and first in his age category). His search for the 2024 holy grail continues... 

Another 5K adventure could be on the horizon. 

 

Scenic 7 

I finished the weekend off by running the Stowmarket Scenic 7 the following day. In a strange turn of events, my legs felt heavy from the previous day’s efforts, but it was an enjoyable event on an undulating route. 

It’s one to definitely have another go at in the future... perhaps when I haven’t run a flat-out 5K 24 hours earlier.