The running club race series

Our running club (and no doubt lots of other running clubs too) has an annual race series. It is a set series of races which club members can choose to take part in to compete against each other. Club members are awarded points for where they finish in relation to other club members.

There are ‘open’ points for an overall winner and age group points. The age groups are senior (18-39), then every five years from 40 onwards – so 40-44, 45-49 etc for men and women. A person might win their age category and get maximum points (12), but come for example third overall, so get nine points for the open competition.

Points are awarded for the top 10 club members in a race or age category, plus all club members get one point for taking part. So a slightly slower runner who takes part in a lot of races still has a chance of picking up a prize.

There are 12 races in the series, ranging from one mile to 20 miles, so there is something for everyone. Runners can also submit their best marathon time for the year and get awarded points for that. To be eligible to win prizes for the race series, club members need to run at least three races. Points for their best seven races are taken into account. So they could run all 12 races plus a marathon, but only their best seven races would count.

The races are all small, local races – organised by other running clubs or local cricket clubs etc. There’s none of the big, commercial races costing £40 or £50 on the race series.

When the list of this year’s races was published at the end of last year, I assumed I wouldn’t be doing it. I had a marathon to train for and already a lot of half marathons booked in – one for spring and four for autumn. I didn’t think there would be time to fit in more races.

At the start of this year, I was chatting to another club member – a lady a few years older than me who is a very good runner – about the race series and whether I should do it.

“You would probably win it.”

I hadn’t thought about that.

I hadn’t realised that, while there are a fair few women of my age who run, not many of them run fast. I don’t know whether they choose to run more slowly or whether they are unable to run faster – but either way, they don’t tend to run fast.

So I decided to give it a go!

It has been enjoyable taking part in races of different distances. Previously, I only really ran half marathons and parkrun. I’ve yet to do an actual 5k race, but I’ve done three 10ks as part of the race series, plus a five mile race and a one mile race.

I’ve also enjoyed running these small, local races, which I didn’t know about previously. It’s a nice change to park on a field and set off with 100 runners from a cricket field, rather than 2,000 runners from a city centre.

And the lady I spoke to all those months ago was right. I did win it. I’ve even won my age category overall in a few races – Dymock half marathon, Cirencester 10k and Bugatti 10k, which came as a real surprise the first time it happened.

I actually finished the series with maximum points – coming first in my category in every race I entered. Although only seven races count towards the final mark, I actually came first in eight from the series, plus the marathon.

No doubt I’ll be joining the race series again next year. I think I’ll be able to enjoy another year of victory, before a couple of slightly younger, fast ladies move into my age category.

There’s also an off-road race series. I’m definitely a road runner. But I wonder if I might give that one a try too?