NWFPAC ‘Michael Page’ Championship 2023 – Race 7: Altrincham 10k

An early morning tram took me to the leafy suburb of Altrincham, home of Manchester Storm - the 6th best ice hockey team in the country (coincidentally coached by my namesake, Mr M. Ginn) - and on Sunday, 17th September, the destination for the penultimate NWFPAC race of the 2023 season.

Without Dave to spot in his iconic NWFPAC green hoody and co-ordinate us all, it was always going to be a challenge to meet up beforehand - I did bump into Nicola in the port-a-loo queue where we both confessed to not having read Dave’s pre-race email properly to know if there even was a meeting point! [Ed. Dave didn’t mention one, sorry!]

After a very quick warm up, I squeezed my way through 2,148 other runners towards the front where I spotted Charlie, Byron, Tim and David and tried to get some last-minute advice for how to tackle the course. Charlie’s final tip was “try to hold on to Byron’s coattails and see if you have anything left at the end.” Mental note made.

Weather conditions were perfect for the 10 NWFPAC runners who lined up at the start. The route took us out of Altrincham centre, immediately uphill for the first 500m, before a 90-degree turn onto a 3km, mansion lined stretch towards Hale Barns. This was the point that Byron overtook me and accelerated away. The incline was constant and leg sapping, so gawping at each of the “Real Housewives of Cheshire” style houses with (often multiple) supercars parked on the driveways along the way was a welcome distraction!

As they say, what goes up must come down and the 5th km provided some welcome downhill running.

Halfway.

The route then snaked around Ringway golf course and some scenic country lanes before heading back towards Altrincham. Finally, I managed to grab hold of those coattails that Charlie had been talking about and, in a repeat of the Southport Half Marathon, Byron and I went stride for stride around the last 3k.

As my watch ticked over the 10k mark, my legs were tiring but there was still no sign of the finish. Instead we were faced with a steep 100m hill sprint up and over a railway bridge to reach the line – just what we needed. As I mentally prepared myself for one final push, I could only imagine that this must have been how contestants felt on the 90s hit TV show ‘Gladiators’ when they reached the dreaded Travelator at the end of the Eliminator round! [Ed. Great 90s TV reference!]

It was great to catch up with a few of the NWFPAC runners at the end for a quick debrief as a number of us finished closely together, well, except Steven Henderson who was way ahead, taking the 20 points with a very impressive time of 34.02 (6th place overall)! I managed to hold on to be the 2nd NWFPAC finisher with Byron marginally behind in 3rd. Special mention also goes to Tim Shaw who convincingly beat his long-term goal of breaking the 40-minute barrier in a time of 38.55. Well done Tim, smashed it!

Afterwards I stuck around in Altrincham to cheer some friends on, encourage the last few runners over the finishing hill and refuel with a Sunday roast. We then settled down in a cosy pub to watch Everton lose and rehydrate with copious amounts of Guinness. A Sunday well spent.