At last! The day had finally arrived! Sunday 9th September 2007 - and my first 10K! Although i had only been training for the past 3 months, it felt like I had been waiting for ever to have a go! Would all the training all be in vain, would this result in a public humiliation? Would I crawl back to the safety of my couch defeated? - today I would find out!

The training had been good fun. 3 months ago following an article in the Cumbernauld News I ventured along to my first training session at Chryston - alone - Billy No Mates. I didn’t need to worry, every one was very welcoming and i settled in quickly. Such was my enthusiasm that I told everyone about my new pursuit, and shortly afterwards I was accompanied by Jackie (my daughter), Bruce (her boyfriend) and Kevin (a friend). Everyone at Chryston encouraged each other, towards our one goal - the 10K. At home my wife Liz made it quite clear there was no giving up - after all I just spent our hard earned cash on brand new running shoes!

The run was due to start at 10am, so we arrived at Broadwood Stadium at 9.30 in preparation. The usual Sunday breakfast of Bacon Rolls had been banished and I had consumed the obligatory banana instead! Quickly we met up with some of the others from Chryston, and all chatted about the run - everyone agreed time didn’t matter, just finishing is what matters! The morning was dry and overcast, so probably ideal for what we were doing. Some of us were familiar with the route as we had completed a practice run over the course several weeks before. This really helped and although I didn’t tell the others, I was determined to beat my previous time of 62 minutes!

Before setting off i had a quick look around and noticed there was the full range of runners, from complete beginners to obviously some professionals - almost 400 runners in total.

Just after 10am, the run set off initially skirting the edge of Broadwood Loch, quite scenic but lets concentrate on the matter in hand! I linked up with one of the other runners from Chryston and as is my reputation chatted non stop for the first 20 minutes or so. This probably annoys the hell out of others, but it takes my mind off the running! After the loch we ploughed up several gradual inclines (not hills apparently!) and seemed to be making good time. I kept going and deliberately pushed myself a bit faster than i was used to and after about 40 minutes arrived back at the loch. The route then concluded with a 3KM run round the edge of the loch which was a bit disconcerting as it meant running away from the stadium and finishing line rather than towards it. By now my legs were feeling quite weary and it was a case of gritting teeth for the last stretch - the crowd and stewards were great in their encouragement. The final run up to the finishing line was great as the larger crowds cheered us in. - 54 minutes! I was delighted!

At the finish line

Everyone did really well and there was great relief as we all collected our mementos, took photographs and relayed our stories. It really did feel like a great achievement, and I think we all felt quite proud!

We had all achieved our goal, now we can chuck this madness in and relax,…. but hold on, didn’t somebody mention a 10K coming up at Strathclyde Park - Oh! No! have we got the bug?!

Andy Locke

(All Cumbernauld 10k results can be found here)