When someone asks you to name a running event, what’s the first thing that comes to mind… The London Marathon? Race for Life? The Great North Run? There are a number of high profile running events which take place throughout the UK. But running events arent always of this mangitude, in fact some of our favorite running events are the smaller and more intimate races taking place right on your doorstop.

There are a number of advantages that the local running races have over the larger and more commercial events. They dont have the same entrance fees as the larger events, they are often smaller and tend not to be as busy and over-subscribed as larger races such as the marathon. Some of the smaller races are brilliant for complimenting your training, whether you’re looking for a fresh challenge, trying to beat a Personal Best Running Time, or even taking part in a smaller race as part of your training for one of the larger events.

We’ve caught up with Pete Morton, Leggit’s resident personal trainer who recently achieved Gold and a new course record for St Mary’s Challenge, Yate, a local 5K race in Bristol.

Pete, Our Resident PT

“The third annual running of the St.Mary’s Primary School 5K Challenge saw the largest field yet (around 150 runners) assemble on the school playing field on Sat 6th June 2009. Along with the other stalls and attractions held at the school that day, this was the main event.

There were trophies and medals on offer for the top three males, females and juniors, and along with spot prizes, a bonus bottle of wine for breaking the course record of 20:17. This seems quite slow for a 5K, but with the distance being an unusual 5.5K (3.5miles) it made all the difference.

The start was slippery underfoot due to the greasy paths from drizzly showers, and it has to be the only race I have done that runs through a churchyard cemetery. The course was winding but largely flat, and well marshalled along most of the route. There were unfortunately, for those of us right at the front, points where it was unclear which way we had to go, and this did cause confusion on one or two occasions. My aim was simple, 3:40 per kilometre and try and finish in the top 5. 1K in 3:37. 2K in 7:05, 4K in 14:00…

I hit the 5K mark in 17:10, neck and neck with one other runner, as we battled it out for first place. Youth did in the end triumph over experience though, as I kicked away over the last 400m to win, and claimed my bottle of wine for the new course record of 19:44. A much enjoyable local race, but one that will need more volunteers if it is to continue to grow.”

Peter Morton
Summit Personal Training, North Bristol