With a bit of blagging, thanks Chris & Wendy, I was not only able to purloin a free entry to the race but also managed an elite car parking space at the Madjeski Stadium. Paul Barlow particularly enjoyed being ushered through by lines of security officials and gave the royal wave.
I never felt particularly comfortable during the race - hardly surprising after six weeks with this bug / virus - but I tried to maintain a good pace throughout.
After a particularly difficult spell through the centre of Reading - I found the twists & turns ruined my normally metronomic stride - I then locked into a great pace from about eight miles and managed a couple of sub 5.40 miles (57.50 at 10 miles). Bizarrely, in a field on 12,000 runners I was running totally alone for a few miles and couldn't even see the guys ahead. Finished strongly in the magnificent stadium and without any undue stress. Relatively pleased with my time; it's interesting that a year ago I would have been ecstatic with 76.02 such has been my progress. Had to wait until the next day to get the news that I'd won the V50 race by some five minutes.Now I just need to get healthy and sort myself out.
