From Alison Bennett…

It’s 10 years ago since I last attempted a 10-mile race so one was long overdue. I arrived at the Half Moon Bay Cafe, Heysham to collect my race number for an event billed as the Morecambe Festival of Running which also incorporated a 5k and 10k race.

With white-topped waves crashing on the shore it looked to be a cold and windy day so several layer options were considered before plumping for my usual kit; shorts and a vest!

Runners for all the different distances set off together then peeled off to return after their appropriate halfway stages along the promenade. As I headed north towards Bare, the wind seemed to have calmed but once I reached the turnaround on this out-and-back route, it became apparent it had not subsided and I was now facing into a headwind for the second half of the race.

With few runners competing at this distance it meant we were fairly well spread out along the promenade but there was company to be had in the form of families and folks enjoying the bracing seaside air.

Although the bulk of the race was on the flat, a couple of short hills in the last half mile sapped my energy but I was chuffed to finish as second Female in 1:18:36.