On a gloriously sunny Autumn morning with a hint of wintry chill, a large contingent of Bromley Veterans, together with relations and supporters, arrived at Willet Recreation Ground, Petts Wood for the 6th running of this popular event.
As usual, the race was superbly well-organised, with different start areas, depending on anticipated finish time and plenty of friendly marshals on hand. The multi-terrain course was scenic and varied, from the rather splendid houses near the start to the pastoral views of sheep in the fields, as runners crossed the railway bridge before entering the muddy, tree-root strewn paths of local woodland, just beginning to show their autumn colours. There were plenty of hills, as the profile sent out with the excellent pre-race pack had warned, but in some cases the pain was eased by a series of increasingly encouraging signs as one progressed up the hill.
Special mention should go to father and son Chris and Paul Marshall; Paul was the 13th runner home, in a time of 39:40 (a PB for Paul at the PW 10K), with Chris coming in at number 79 in 44:56, almost matching his previous PB of 44:39 achieved in 2009. Congratulations, too, to Barbara Baker on completing her first 10K and to Ian Chapman on his first 10K as a member of Bromley Vets.
There were 608 finishers in total.
It was great to see Bromley Veterans so well represented.
Congratulations to all our runners for excellent performances on this challenging course.