Katie Percival broke down in tears at the finishing line of the Wilmslow Festive 10k. Happily though these were tears of joy after finally achieving her target of a ‘sub 40’ 10k. Years of dedication and training had finally come to fruition. Partner of Rob Short, Bolton’s Running Mayor, Katie had an agenda of her own but it was the last thing on her mind prior to the race on Sunday.
She explained “what I would say is I’ve been aiming for the sub 40 for years but to be honest I turned up on Sunday with no expectations, thinking ‘just run’. When I was still with the sub 40 pacer at 5k I realised I might be doing okay! Obviously running in freezing conditions suits me well as I am known for complaining that it’s too hot! Very happy with the result of course and looking forward to upcoming events”.
Harriers had a small but strong contingent in a talented country wide line up. First Harrier home and in overall fourth position was the irrepressible Jonny Kay. He was hoping for a ‘sub 30’ 10k but although those hopes were dashed he still finished with a stunning pb of 30 mins 21 secs. Jonny commented “it was bitterly cold. Happy with it. Settled into a good rhythm early on in the leading pack but ended up being pretty solo from the 5k mark. Nigel Martin of Sale (sub 29 runner) was always in sight so he gave me something to look at – always happy with a pb” !
Tommy ‘Gun’ Harrison continued his fine form and busy schedule with yet another pb in a time of 32 mins 31 secs. Tommy has had a fantastic year and can rightly be proud of his 2021 achievements in the famous Blue Vest.
The previously mentioned Rob Short also came away with a super pb finishing in 35 mis 21 secs. Rob has continued to improve since joining Dave Shaw’s group and didn’t disappoint his watching coach.
Joe Grisdale and Matt Atkinson both had big pbs to celebrate on the day also and were split by the super consistent Chris Povey (known has ‘Diesel’ to his team mates). Joe posted 37 mins 17 secs with Chris just 1 sec behind. After getting his breath back Joe said proudly “chuffed to bits with that and looking forward to seeing how I progress next year training with the group”. Matt revealed “it was great to get a 10k pb after mainly marathon training over the last year or so and my aim is to go sub 37 in the New Year”.
Jordan Brophy proved what a great trooper he is by taking up his starting position despite still getting over Covid. Jordan battled his way to a time of 41 mins 18 secs and will no doubt improve on that with Wilmslow under his belt and the illness behind him.
