Seven Wakefield MAG members helped support Wakefield Hospice with their 20th Annual City 10K Road Race, on Sunday 29th March. The Wakefield Hospice 10K is a big fixture in the running calendar, attracting seriously good runners, as well as being the major fund raising event for the Wakefield Hospice, our local charity.
Steve & Justine were there at 08:15 for the race briefing, from Danielle Cain, the Hospice Events Co-ordinator. The key change for 2015 was no Police presence (they usually lead the race), but otherwise, our duties were identical to last year, looking after the back end of the pack (behind the tail end marshal car) once the road re-opens for traffic after an hour. Our role is to act as mobile race marshals, ensuring the safety of the tail end competitors. Once the road is re-opened, a good number of runners (walkers !!!) are still be on the course, and they will be blissfully unaware the road has been re-opened again to traffic, hence why our role, as highly visible and highly mobile marshals, is vital.
Chas, Martin, Terry & Sharon and John all arrived by 08:30 with the race itself starting at 09:00. We left the start area at 08:50 to take up position on the course, leaving Justine to act as the back marker.
It wasn't long before the lead runners came streaming past us, then followed by the bulk of the pack.
The winner usually finishes after about half an hour. After about 45 minutes traffic was being progressively allowed onto the road, so we took it in turns to ride the course, park up and observe and make sure the runners/walkers were safe.
After about an hour and a half, we had safely escorted the vast majority of the remaining competitors to the finish line and their own personal glories !!! Justine was back marker and escorted the tail end competitor for a good while before handing over to the St Johns Ambulance cyclist (who was more likely to be needed than Justine at this point !!!).
Youngsters and fancy dress runners also competed in a 1K Fun Run, around Clarence Park.
There were a record number of competitors this year, so hopefully the huge turnout will help the Hospice reach their Fundraising Target of £40,000, which is enough to fund the entire hospice for one week!
Following our obligatory team photo, we all headed our separate ways.
Although the bulk of the race had been in overcast but largely dry weather, the heavens opened at the end, and we were all soaked by the time we got home. A huge thanks to Steve, Justine, Chas, Martin, John, Terry and Sharon for helping to marshal this years race, and for the very early Sunday morning start .... made particularly worse as the clocks had gone forward an hour, meaning one less hour in bed !!!
It is great to be able to support our local charity in a non-monetary way, and in a way which is so very useful to them. We have helped the hospice marshal their prestigious 10K race for a good number of years now, and long may it continue.