RUNNING: Runners brave the cold and dark for head torch 10K

Pictures by Nick Wolstenholme

Wednesday night saw the inaugural running of the Gato Sports Head Torch 10K. The event took place along the Great Central Way in Rugby on what was a sub-zero evening. The event was close to being cancelled due to inclement conditions but the organisers took the decision to go ahead advising runners it probably wasn’t going to be a PB night! Luckily the gravel path was mostly runnable and not completely taken over by ice but it required some careful footwork in places by the runners! The course consisted of two simple out and back laps along the disused railway. There was the killer punch of finishing at the top of the 200m zigzags where a medal, neckwarmer and hot liquids greeted the finishers and a bowl of soup from Lean on Liddle kept the cold at bay.

Mark Raddan of Bedford Harriers came home in first place overall in a time of 38:52 and first female was Emma Atkins in 42:40. Both went home with a LED Sports Vest courtesy of the events supporters Gato Sports.

Over 80 runners headed off with only head torches to light the way in to the dark, quite a sight! It is the first time such an event has been held along the Great Central Way in Rugby. The performance of the male and female winners was impressive but there were achievements all the way through the field. Many runners managed to set personal bests (despite the awful conditions) and lots had never completed a race at night either, a very different experience for many reasons.

Big Bear Events will be returning to the Great Central Way in Rugby on Wednesday, February 27th for race 2 of the Gato Sports Head Torch 10K series.