On Wednesday evening I raced the first race of the Bitton 5k Series organised by Bitton Road Runners. This series of four races offers fast, friendly midweek races throughout the summer. It's a perfect opportunity for chasing PBs and enjoying a competitive run in a welcoming club atmosphere. Kinisi Run Hub are proud to be supporting this year's series and were there with a pop-up shop.
The race HQ is at the Avon Valley (Bitton) Railway Station along the old Bristol-Bath railway line. This is a great location for the HQ with ample parking and facilities including toilets on site. The race takes place on the cycle path and is a certified out and back course starting towards Bath and returning towards Bristol. The path is flat and tarmac which means you can really pick up the pace!
The start of the race is a little narrow as it is on the cycle path however, the organisers did a good job of getting people to line up against their potential with rough time indication markings. The cycle path is open to the public but there are plenty of marshals on the course to ensure there are no issues.
The event attracts runners from lots of the local clubs and looking around on the start line there were strong turnouts from the likes of Bristol & West AC, Southville RC and of course Bitton Road Runners. One person I noted at the start was Adam Holland who I often race at the Weston Prom Series and I know he goes out hard. The race got underway with no issues and as I suspected Adam started quick.
Initially, I let Adam go as I didn't want to get carried away and go off too hard. 5k is a funny distance because in your head you think it is going to be over quickly but in reality if you misjudge the pace it can feel like a very long way. Over the first kilometre I gradually closed the gap on Adam and went past him in the second kilometre. I slowly started to open up a gap and it turned into a time trial for myself.
The course is well marked with kilometre markers so you know how far into the race you are which can really help with correctly judging your effort. I wanted one final hard run out before the Bristol Half Marathon on Sunday so settled into a pace and did what I needed to do to win and get a solid effort in. My mile splits were fairly consistent and I felt strong so I was happy with my race.
I managed to take the win 15:28 followed home by Adam Holland (Tavistock AC) in 16:17 and David Thurlbeck (Southville RC) in 16:19. Amy Nicholls (Bristol & West AC) won the women's race in 18:03 as Anne Kenchington (Unattached) and Elsa Kingham (Bitton RR) took second and third in 18:39 and 19:14. In total there were 70 finishers. Full results of the first race in the Bitton 5k Series here.
Well done to everyone who raced and thank you Bitton Road Runners for hosting a great event! Kinisi Run Hub are proud to be supporting such a great event and I can’t wait for the second race of the series in June!
If you are interested in taking part in the next races in the series you can register on the Bitton RR event page here.