Report from Karen Best:

Having taken part in the Isle of Man Running Festival for the first time in 2009, we decided to go back for a little more punishment… so off we went on Good Friday with the promise of mixed weather and a high chance of wet feet for the duration.

Our first race the 10km on Friday night went well and we gave the young whippets a run for their money. We knew what to expect this year so the start line was not so daunting and actually rather entertaining for the chaps with lots of long legged 18 to 20 year olds lining up. It stopped raining just before the race! The girls did themselves proud with two pbs over a tough course not known for pbs (Karen Best 40:57 and Sue Tupling 49:29….breaking 50 mins for the first time! Lloyd Best 38:21).

We woke on Saturday to sunshine and off we went to Peel for the hill race. Lloyd was a few seconds slower than last year and his excuse was “I’m taking it easy….London is looming!”. Karen and Sue knocked time off last year and managed a couple of sprint finishes.

Sunday arrived and yet again the sun was shining and although a little windy it was near perfect conditions for an early morning 5km along the prom. Sue again broke a milestone with a pb of 23:35 (Karen 19:58 and Lloyd 17:58). Both Karen and Lloyd were second Vets overall and Karen picked up the vet prize for second place in each of the races and overall came 13th lady in the festival (note: four of the females in the top 10 were not even seniors!). So we’ve all patted ourselves on the back and spent the winnings and we didn’t get WET!!

Thanks to the Otley guys for the support on Sunday.