16th February 2002

Stamford is a great little town and always worth a visit.  So Katy, Rich, (Little) Karen & Sean made the trip the afternoon before the race.  After a tour of the town and a great meal at ASK Pizza Pasta, it was an early night in readiness for the race.

As the race starts at 11am, it is worth waking up early for a full English breakfast much to everyone's amazement.  Well it's a long way to run!  A very relaxing morning getting ready as the start was barely 5 minutes away by car.  Having been joined by Bob Ratliffe and his family, and the last minute choice of running clothes based upon the cold conditions we start to Karen's famous quote "I'm Scared!?".

The first 10k is probably the hilliest of any run I have ever raced and passed by relatively comfortably.  The 2nd 10k leg was where the duo team of Bob and Richard made up time and places before coming to the last 10k which was tough and tiring.  Bob's relentless competitive spirit pushed the duo pass a few more runners back through the winding housing estate to the school playing field and the finish.

A great race complete with goody bag and brass memento - recommended for any pre-London Marathon race training.

Rich

The Stowmarket Striders results are:-

There were 413 finishers.