Greystones 10k race

My husband and I, along with lots of members of our running club, recently took part in the Greystones 10k race. Greystones 10k is a trail race, just outside Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, close to the Oxfordshire border. Organised by North Cotswolds Rotary, it is based at Greystones Farm, which is owned by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.

The race came immediately after the UK’s first heatwave of 2025. Temperatures had been hitting 29 or 30 degrees for the last few days. Thankfully, the forecast for the race was a more modest 20 or 21 – still pretty hot for running!

Parking was on a farmer’s field, then it was just a short walk to race HQ. There was a short queue for registration. Toilets were the public toilets at the farm. There were just two cubicles for the ladies, but the queue moved quickly. There was a secure bag drop – they locked the room when the race started. There were cakes, coffees and teas for sale for charity after the race. Cake was priced at £3.50 a piece, which did seem rather steep, even though it was for charity!

Our friend who runs lots of trails told us Greystones 10k was ‘flat’. There were some undulations, but it was definitely the flattest trail race I’ve done so far. She also told us part of it was on the road, so because of this and because the ground was so dry, she was wearing road shoes. I was envious. I’d much rather wear road shoes than trail shoes, but I only had my trail shoes with me.

I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to run a fairly flat 10k trail race, especially in the heat. My 10k PB from Bourton earlier this year is 45:05. I’ve run 45:17 twice this year – at Berkeley and Cirencester. I guessed around 50 minutes, although at times I thought I might be on for 48 or 49 minutes.

The race started at 10:30am, which is fairly late for a race, especially in the middle of summer when it’s likely to be hot. We lined up a few rows back from the front, alongside all our friends from the club who run a similar pace. My husband took off quickly and I never caught him. He’s had a dip in fitness recently, so I’ve been beating him on races and even on parkrun. I’d asked him if he was going to beat me at Greystones and he thought he wasn’t.

For the first 2km I found I was right on the shoulder of the friend who always paces me, whether he means to or not. We just seem to run at the same pace. The start of the race had a few twists and turns as we went from one field to the next. There were lots of marshals on the course and they held the gates open, so we weren’t slowed down by having to open gates all the time.

The 1km marker came very quickly. At 2km, we were out on the road and running through the very pretty village of Wyck Rissington. We were on the road for about a mile, then it was back onto the trails. We really ran on every possible sort of trail – there were dirt tracks and semi-finished surfaces, as well as tarmac. There were fields and woodland. There were some very narrow trails with tall grasses and brambles on either side… There was lots of shade and also some sun. I could feel myself getting gradually hotter as I ran.

I saw my friend overtake my husband and disappear into the distance. I was gradually closing the gap on my husband.

There was water at 5k, with a paramedic just before it instructing everyone to take some. Because of the heat, I was carrying my own drink anyway, but I still slurped a few mouthfuls of water. Around 6k was probably the most challenging part of the race. It was flat, but the surface was incredibly uneven with dried mud and tree roots, as well as being very narrow.

After that, we were briefly back on a road and I recognised it as the road we’d driven up to park. We could see the cars, but we weren’t at the finish yet! Between 8 and 9km, we did a loop and could see the runners going the opposite way in the distance. I was overtaken by a woman from a more competitive local club, who then ran alongside my husband. Twice, she stopped to walk, even though it was fairly flat and we were very close to the end. I saw my husband encouraging her to keep going.

The end of the race, like the start, seemed to have a lot of changes of direction as we went from one field to the next. Just before the end, there was a field which had well worn paths marked into the ground. But there were no arrows saying we had to use them. I started following them, but realised my husband and the woman next to him were ignoring them and running the direct route. So I followed them. Then people behind me ran an even more direct route and ignored them completely.

I was so close to my husband at this point and he still didn’t know I was there. He looked over his shoulder, but I was in his blind spot! I hadn’t managed to run 48 or 49 minutes. Even though it wasn’t hilly, I’d got slower and slower as I’d run, as a result of the challenging surfaces and the heat. I crossed the line in 50:26 – just three seconds behind my husband. He had no idea I was there. He’d assumed I would be in front of him. My friend I usually run with was also surprised I’d been almost two minutes behind him.

But I was only 10 minutes behind the male winner and just over five minutes slower than my recent road 10k times, so I was happy with that!

Greystones 10k was an enjoyable race and I’m sure I will be back.