Bangor 10k 2026

It was the day of the Bangor 10k and I figured a PB was not going to happen. But a category win very well might. I tend to do well in this race! Hence that I have been doing it so long. But maybe I should swap it for the half marathon. But more on that later. 

I decided to drive. I am not keen on my bike commute during a weekend. I did park on a University car park. I was a bit disappointed it had the barrier down; how badly does a university need its car park on a Sunday? My Corsa stood in seas of space with on the other side of the bollards, people struggling to find a spot. 

I went to get my number, and did a little warm-up on the hill. Maybe not the most efficient choice given my road shoes, but it’s beautiful there. 

Forested warm-up

By the start I saw some running friends. Katie was there; she was going to try to run a PB on the Half Marathon with a pacer. Richie was there, and I figured he could finally beat me again, after a string of injuries. Soon we lined up. Batala, the local drum band that festoons more races, was there too. They are fab! 

Batala in action

I didn’t want to strain as much as I had done in Pwllheli and Trentham, and even Caernarfon. I started at a fairly relaxed pace. We got to the pier, and then back off it, and to the bicycle track. I tend to feel it doesn’t really start until you reach the part of the bike track you also run in the opposite direction, but in reality, by then you have already done some 4k. And I was feeling good. First I overtook Richie. He clearly needs to come back from his injuries a bit more! And there were two young ladies ahead of me, and I managed to overtake them. One was in the uni club. 

I knew the interesting bit would be when the first runners would come the other way; then you can see how many women there are ahead of you in the 10k. Some women in front of you will be running the half marathon, but these don’t turn around until much later, obviously. First came several men. Then one woman, closely followed by another. And then only some more men. I was in third position! And I could see the two young ladies were a bit of a distance behind me by now. I was confident I could take bronze. 

I ran on, now myself running against the oncoming traffic. I got a lot of cheers! Until the route split again. We came off the bike path. I knew the ladies wouldn't catch me anymore. I trundled the second last km, and then knew I could throw it all out in the last. And because of my relaxed approach, there really still was something in the bag. I stormed over the finish! Done. Bronze. 

Done it

 

I chatted a bit with volunteers behind the finish line (I knew three out of four), and got my medal and T-shirt. I also got my bag, and drank my recovery shake. Then I found Rick (from track) and together we went back to the course to cheer others on. Initially only 10k runners, but only some 1:15 after the start, the first half marathon finisher came flying past. And then they kept coming. 

I also saw one of our recently graduated students, and our new PhD James, who is her partner. It was good to see them! And I saw the female winner of the half marathon; she said she had seen me running and decided she could use me as a pacer. That obviously hadn’t worked. But she still had had a great race! And I was flattered. 

We then had the presentation. It looked like it would clash with Katie coming in. A pity! But I indeed had bronze, with a time of 43:50. Only just in my top 10 of 10k times. But that is fine. Still 50 seconds faster than 4th woman. And some five minutes faster than the next F50 along (but frankly, there weren’t many in this race).  The first two ladies had come in really close together, some 2.5 minutes before me. A great time for two superfast youngsters! One was under 20 and the other one didn’t look an awful lot older. 

When the presentation was over, Katie found me. She had indeed broken her PB, and by several minutes! Amazing result. She said it had been hard. I think she'll be very satisfied with how it has gone. 

Then it was time to go home and have lunch. And a shower!