Sunderland Silksworth 5K NE Championships – 20th July 2023
by Simon Pickering
This was my first time doing this course, and I’d been sold it as a “bloody quick course”. As soon as I saw the first half mile, I understood why. It turned out to be a good night for Crook, with many people getting 5k PB’s.
I got there early as I went straight from work and was one of the first to register. Simple enough process. I soon started to get imposter syndrome seeing the height and the stride on some of the lads and lasses that were knocking about. I just had to remember Brads wise words – “run to your clock, not your position”.
The lasses and vets kicked off first, and we managed to see them get to the bottom of the hill. The pace they were going was unreal, with Stan leading the way, closely followed by Kate (more about her later…), Geoff, then Gayle and Phil not far behind. We had to miss the rest of the action though, as we needed to go get ready for the mens race, which eventually kicked off at 7.25.
This was where the imposter syndrome really started to kick in. You soon realise what kind of company you’re in when the slowest starting marker reads “sub 19 minutes”! Thankfully, the start line nerves were soon eased thanks to some of the local youth, who shouted something about “if you’re wearing running shoes you’re a………”. Didn’t quite catch the last bit, but I’m sure it was nothing short of inspirational motivation!
Going down that narrow hill at race pace is something else. The only thing I can liken it to is the first few corners of a formula one race, before having to chuck the brakes on to get round the corner at the bottom. The course then does a few laps round the lakes, taking in some narrow sections, a tight little chicane over the bridge, and a devious, short but sharp incline to make sure your legs are still functional after the rapid start.
The quicker Crook lads were making some good pace, with Alex (who shaved nearly 30 seconds off his 5k PB!!) finishing first for Crook, closely followed by Lee who, by all accounts, pushed Alex all the way round. Rob came home around 25 seconds later, Sam Etherington got a sub 18, Brad not far over 19 mins, I managed to shave 9 seconds off my PB, Matty just missed his sub 20 min but got a 5k PB, and Andrew Heaviside come in not far behind.
All in all, a class day at the office and a race I would certainly recommend, but special mention has to go to the rocket that is Kate Storey. One of the most modest, yet supportive lasses you could ever meet, managed to shave 12 seconds off the club female 5k record, only a week or so after taking the club female 10k record. Unbelievable graft, and it’s going to be awesome watching her shave more and more off these times. Unreal effort Kate.
Ladies and Vet Mens
Pos Name Cat (Cat/Pos) ChipTime
5 Wayne Pearson M50 (003/049) 00:17:05
35 Kate E. Storey FS (016/053) 00:18:44
105 Geoff Hewitson M60 (012/020) 00:21:37
142 Gayle Askwith F40 (011/016) 00:24:55
143 Philip Healey M60 (016/020) 00:25:11
Mens
Pos Name Cat (Cat/Pos) ChipTime
49 Alex Hird MS (042/117) 00:16:23
50 Lee Thompson MS (043/117) 00:16:25
67 Robert Teasdale MS (058/117) 00:16:51
110 Sam Etherington MS (083/117) 00:17:49
149 Brad Wight M40 (046/068) 00:19:14
158 Simon Pickering MS (107/117) 00:19:48
160 Matthew Brimm M40 (052/068) 00:20:11
170 Andrew Heaviside M40 (059/068) 00:20:51
