In several respects, this was a unique build up to the June edition of the North Head 10km:

no racing (excluding parkrun) since Boston, in contrast to most others in Hurts who did the Sydney 10 or SMH or both;
managed to twinge my right ITB 4 days pre-race during a self-imposed 1km rep session which forced me to back off completely for a couple of days prior to the race. Indeed I wasn’t 100% confident I would make the start line until I started feeling ok during my warm up; and
realistic prospect that I could get “chicked” by both Lauren and Fiona…ha!
With all that in mind and given it wasn’t an “A” race, I decided to test my Nike Vaporflys for the first time. At least I could blame the shoes as well as my dodgy ITB if I raced badly!

Near perfect conditions greeted us on race morning, which is somewhat unusual for North Head. Plenty of familiar faces from Hurts and elsewhere as always at North Head, with the calibre at the pointy end looking seriously sharp. Unlike March where I scraped a top 10 finish, I’d be lucky to get into the top 20 this time! At the start line, Fiona asks me whether I’m going to blast it from the start. I reply no, let’s use the hill at the bottom of the course as our competitive advantage. Barely had I finished my reply and we were off and racing.

Immediately a decent sized pack formed at the front end, with Dave Criniti predictably leading the charge, closely followed by Tom Middleton and Barts. By kilometre 1 (which was a bit quick in hindsight), I managed to find myself in a mini pack which included Lauren. In the distance, I saw poor Tom Highnam getting spat off the back of a lead pack and was hoping for his sake that Gary Mullins and a couple of other would work with him to bridge the gap. My rhythm was really good, my breathing was fine and I didn’t feel any pain. My Vaporflys felt more comfortable than I originally anticipated and I was getting some serious “pop” out of them. Having Lauren with me for the first 3 km or so, I knew the pace was more than honest. Not that I looked at my watch at any point during the race. Round the fast bottom section, I used it as a slingshot to propel myself up the hill the first time and that is where I found myself on my own but chasing a couple of unfamiliar guys in front.

Round the Manly Hospital hairpin the second time (the half way mark), I knew from past races here that the 6th and 7th kilometres are where valuable time can be lost. Got some encouraging shout outs from Ben, Sammy and Jerome. Passing the start / finish line, I deliberately turned my head so I avoided looking at the timing clock. This was a pure “run by feel” race. All I focused on was keeping the effort high but not over-exerting. In the distance, I could make out Tom Highnam and a couple of others near him. It gave me some reassurance that my pace was good. Surely I couldn’t be “chicked” from this point…ha! As I approached the bottom section for the second time, I saw Criniti on his way back, but Tom Middleton and Barts were not too far behind at all. My target was a dude in a grey shirt who was around 40 metres or so ahead. I was determined to try and bridge the gap over the last 3km, using the hill and my endurance to my advantage. But I made no further ground after the hill section and the grey shirt dude was actually closer to Gary Mullins than I realised. Still I pressed on, knowing that surely a decent time was on the cards if I concentrated and showed some tenacity. With a km to go, I see Criniti had already finished but Barts put on a massive surge to pull ahead of Tom Middleton to finish second. Jack Green was working hard but came in fourth, having consumed half a dozen beers the night before. At the final hairpin, I felt the presence of a tall-ish runner I hadn’t seen in the race before. Told myself I’m not going to let this dude overtake me at this stage, got some more encouraging shout outs, so I pushed as hard as I possibly could over the last 400m. Allowed myself a look at the timing clock and I was absolutely delighted, so much so I threw my arms in the air when I crossed the finish line like I’d actually won the thing. 34:50!! Only the second time I’ve broken 35 minutes and only 9 seconds off my PB, which was set on a much faster course. Honestly I didn’t expect this.

Some fantastic performances from the Hurts crew and others, too many to mention. Particularly noteworthy from my perspective was Barts (2nd overall in 31:48 and the last kilometre overhaul of Tom Middleton was typical Barts determination), Fiona (36:30, PB and looked really strong whenever we crossed paths during the race), and Lauren (first girl in 35:41, a great time given she only gave birth a few months ago). Hopefully this is the launchpad for the Hurts crew to take on the chunky part of the road racing season with confidence and determination.