Birchwood 10k - 2018 NWFPAC Championship race 6

Birchwood. That picturesque market town with cobbled streets nestled between the scenic M62 and M6. And there lies the theme of this race report, motorways, for those running this long established (35th year) 10k.

The morning was drizzly and a day for windscreen wipers, particularly for those wearing glasses. Other than that it was good driving/running conditions and overheating of the engine wasn’t going to be an issue unlike previous weeks.

Byron Edwards ran it all the way in the outside lane like a well tuned shiny new sports car hurtling along at super fast speed kicking up a lot of spray in the wet conditions to finish in 36.24 (26th out of 957) with just enough left in the tank to pip Michael Manning (36.39) in 32nd place on the chequered flag.

Charlie Batho managed 38.42 running it like a juggernaut trundling along at a steady 60mph with a speed restrictor preventing any speed faster than this. Like all heavy goods vehicles, he suffered on the inclines and kept getting overtaken. Charlie finished 49th gender position and 52nd overall which just about averages 50th which coincidentally was his 50th birthday today and is clearly due a 50,000 mile full service and oil change.

John Williams finished strongly in 41.35 (89th overall) which was a good performance considering he had swapped the warm sunny climate of a California holiday with the low cloud and drizzle of Birchwood only a few hours previously. We’ll have to assume his motorway car was one of those import kit cars with a Q registration plate.

Jill Hickson was the first and only lady home for NWFPAC in 55.07 (116th gender position) plodding along in the middle lane of the motorway frustrating those behind who couldn’t get past!!

Alan Reynold finished in 43.32 (125th gender) two minutes behind John and one minute in front of David. Given that Alan is used to the very hilly, off road Lyme Park parkrun perhaps the mostly tarmac surface didn’t suit his 4WD style of running quite so much?

David Simmons managed 44.31 (151st gender). So whilst his engine and gears may have needed many services and repairs over the last few months in the form of physio sessions, the therapy managed to get him from point A to point B very effectively today.

Finally, Phil Warburton clearly had mechanical problems and needed roadside recovery after failing the MOT as he unfortunately DNF (sorry but hope you are OK).

Well done to all eight runners and thanks once again for David organising yet again another successful NWFPAC race.

We even managed to grab a photo post race just before we set off to find Phil – sorry Jill, maybe you can be in the next one! ;-)

Charlie even wore a special t-shirt to celebrate his 50th birthday too…..