Whatever is the weather up to, when I entered this race weeks ago I had no idea it would such a glorious and hot day. It is almost October and 20 Centigrade. Despite the heat I thought I should give the race a go and try and to stick to my race plan for the first lap and see how I felt then. In fact the first mile went by too quickly and I was 30 seconds inside my plan, which goes to show how I have lost pace judgement while being away injured. The faster start did mean I was able to run free without needing to pass people who had decided to walk. In the second mile the route curved across the fields and I could see the leaders storming away a long way ahead. Fortunately there were frequent and well organised drinks stations and clear mile markers and a small group of three of us ran together for the first 5 miles. I was pleased to find I was still inside my guide time and started to run alone. Ahead were another group which I aimed for, but at half way as we re-entered the school race HQ everyone immediately in front of me peeled off and the road ahead was clear. For the second lap I only saw three runners ahead of me on the one straight road, they were almost a mile away and I only saw one of them again as he slowed near the end. Running along and against the clock was an experience, at ten miles I was still ahead of my target. The last five miles were therefore going to be a challenge, I felt I could not let the time drop now, with two miles to go I just needed to maintain a reasonable pace and while I did slow it was only by a small amount. I finished in a time 3 minutes faster than last year and well inside my target, which was the good news, the bad news was that I now needed to get back into the car and drive home. My warm down was comical as my quads and calf muscles had pretty much seized up, but after a few minutes of gentle running I was able to risk driving on the horrible A140. I returned home to my wife who as usual found it amusing to watch me get out of the car. I bet Bekele doesn't get that sort of treatment, but there again he would not struggle out of the car either.