Cirencester 10k – ‘Cirencester Summer Sizzler’

My husband and I recently took part in the Cirencester 10k. The Cirencester 10k is part of our club’s race series, which we are competing in. Realistically, I wouldn’t have taken part if it wasn’t part of the race series as 10k isn’t my distance. I much prefer 5k (parkrun) or half marathons. I’ve only done three 10ks before – Gloucester in 2021 and 2023 and Bourton in 2023.

Cirenceter 10k is also known as the Cirencester Summer Sizzler because it takes place in the middle of June, when the weather is usually hot. By all accounts, it was unbearably hot last year. But in June 2024, our weather was genuinely being ruled by Arctic air and it was actually pretty chilly.

The Cirencester 10k is a midweek, evening race. I’ve never done either a midweek or an evening race before. It is located at Cirencester Park – the Bathhurst Estate – which is very close to the centre of the town. The park used to be free to enter, but there has recently been some controversy because they are now charging for entrance. Although this wasn’t an issue for the 10k!

We arrived stupidly early and found a free parking space by the park. Then we realised we were at the wrong gate to the park, so moved the car to The Old Kennels, where there was a large car park, which was free after 5pm. I left my hoodie in the car because there was no bag drop and spent the next hour freezing. We were so early for the 7:30 race, we saw the kids’ race set off at 6:30pm. There were plenty of toilets and the queue rarely got too big.

The race started promptly at 7:30 and we arranged ourselves with some of the other quicker club members near the front of the pack. Runners were told that the top 3 male and female finishers would be based on gun time, but all the category winners would be based on chip time. We were told not to wear headphones. I removed my single (fake) AirPod, but nobody else did, so I put it back in! I will definitely invest in some bone conducting headphones soon though.

The race all takes place within the grounds of the park. It is all on tarmac surfaces, some of which are as wide and smooth as roads and some of which are a bit more narrow and uneven.

The race starts downhill, although I didn’t actually realise this at the time! There were a few speed bumps in the road. There was one drinks station at 5km, but runners had been advised to carry their own drinks (no doubt on account of last year’s ‘sizzling’ temperatures). I thought I would feel a bit stupid with a hydration vest for a 10k, so I used the elastic on my running belt to attach a 250ml soft water bottle. I lost my water bottle within about 30 seconds.

After maybe 0.5km, the course opens out into beautiful parkland, with a perfect view of the church in the distance. It then loops round and runners are immediately faced with a steep hill. After this, there was some gradual downhills and some parts which felt like woodland. Then at around 4km we were back onto that same bit of beautiful parkland, looking at the church.

My pace was up and down a bit. I knew my 10k PB started with a 46 and of course I wanted to beat that. But I also knew it was a pretty good time. Sometimes, my pace looked as if I was on for a PB and sometimes it looked like I would miss it. Towards the end of the first lap, I overtook a few people and found myself speeding up.

“Go on, Sarah!”

How did they know my name?

Then I remembered it’s on my club vest! Several people shouted my name as I passed through 5k, which was very encouraging.

I was feeling thirsty, thanks to the lost drink. So I grabbed some water. I find drinking out of plastic cups while moving almost impossible, but I knew that on a 10k I couldn’t afford to slow down. So I just drank a few sips as best I could. Then embarked on the second lap.

On the hill I overtook a man from our club. A mile later, I overtook another man from our club. I also overtook a lot of younger women. I hadn’t seen any women of my own age and suspected I might be on for an age category win. The beautiful parkland was nicely downhill and I was at 9k, so I went for it and ran as fast as I could. I ran my sixth mile in 6:45.

Then I turned the corner and headed for the finish line. And realised that it was really uphill. And quite long. And I couldn’t actually see the finish line! It was really tough and I was so close to my PB.

I crossed the line in 46:11 – 30 seconds faster than my PB at Bourton 10k last year. My husband was two minutes in front of me. My missing water bottle was waiting for me on the lost property table.

I won an actual prize for coming first in my age category – my second age category prize in less than three weeks, after Dymock half marathon. And I decided that maybe I’m actually getting the hang of running 10ks.

This completed the PB set for me. Since turning 50 last year, I’ve got PBs in half marathon (Stroud), 5k (Marine Parade parkrun and later equalled at Severn Bridge) and Newport marathon.