Kings Head Canter Recap

What excites me most about this idea is the jeopardy surrounding the results — the uncertainty about who's going to take the win. And that played out perfectly on a warm, breezy Bank Holiday Monday.

I'd be lying if I said every target time was accurate. A few runners have found form in recent weeks and are running quicker than their previous race times would suggest. But that's exactly the point — being in form right now is what should count, not what you did years ago.

I certainly wasn't expecting Jax to produce such a brilliant display, especially given she'd been feeling a little under the weather, and just a day earlier wasn't even sure if she could run.

Jax is a great example of why Open Podium is such a revelation. She's been battling back for so long from injury issues — working hard in the gym and slowly adding more miles to her weekly schedule.

Runners coming back from injury get very little recognition for the work being put in behind the scenes. Often, way off personal bests set many years ago that might never be beaten — they don't need to be. Here at Open Podium, you only need to beat your current target time. Those times factor in recent form, not what you did two, three, maybe even five years ago.

So what if some of us are a little slower than we once were? We now have a chance to taste success again — and who's victory is more deserved: that of the talented runners at the front of the field, gifted with natural ability, or those towards the middle of the pack, working just as hard, and for longer too?

Open Podium celebrates that. And it needs to be celebrated.

So congratulations to Jax, who beat her target time by a massive 1 minute and 44 seconds. Her extra-large men's PB Runner T-shirt has been delivered first class.

Well done to Andrew (-0:56 TTR, 2nd place), Claire (-0:53 TTR, 3rd place), and Louise, Daniel, Simon (me), and Darren, who all beat their target times in Race Number One.

I think my highlight of the day was a comment from James. He admitted it wasn't his best race, but he was still keen to see how he'd fared compared to his target time. Which is exactly what I want this site to achieve — even on bad days, the closer you are to your target, the more points you'll accumulate.

From personal experience, I found the pacing plan to be an absolute game-changer. I used Garmin Pace Pro to plug the splits into my watch.

I chose the "Stretch Goal" option from the pacing point of view, which changed my target from 21:41 to 21:15. The middle section of the race is a gradual uphill (I was waiting for a steeper incline, in truth) — I knew I just needed to hold a relatively steady pace and not panic.

I was working really hard, but aware the last kilometre was where the damage could be done. I gained a few seconds through the middle part of the race, then really pushed hard down the hill — overtaking Iain from Polegate Plodders, as seems to be the case at most races I run. Sorry  Iain. I finished with my quickest kilometre of the day.

I felt strong. I felt in control. I felt like I ran a really well-executed race, and I believe that came down to the pacing plan from Open Podium.

There are a few races this week on the site — the Rye Summer Series 5K, and then the big one, BBB10K. A Target Time Trophy is up for grabs, which will be announced post-race, and probably confirmed Monday afternoon, just to make sure the results are accurate.

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