Frenchay 10K - the past, the present and hopefully, the future!

So there we all were! Despite the sketchy weather - 30 ish EGRC members all proudly sporting crazy, colourful, comical 80s attire. The aim, to re-enact in EGRC comedy style, the start of the very first Frenchay 10k, circa 1980! Oh and to have a lovely recce and bit of grub as well of course! As we lined up to pose for our photo for the Frenchay 10k Brekkie Recce on what was a wet spring April’s morn at UWE’s Glenside Campus in Fishponds, little did we know that this would be the last run we would do together as a club for quite a while. When we met at the Staple Hill Oak afterwards to enjoy our well earned Brekkie/brunch, the conversation eventually turned to the turmoil now sweeping throughout Europe and the incredible measures being put in place in some countries to combat the pandemic. Little did we know that it was all about to kick off here the very next day.

The 40th Frenchay 10k (F10k) is set to be the most eventful in the race’s 40 year history. Mainly because it nearly didn’t happen at all! In fact it still hasn’t! I’m proud to say that it hasn’t been cancelled like so many other races. Merely postponed until Sunday September 6th. Down, but certainly not out. The cancelling of the F10k isn’t without precedent. Those of you more mathematically minded than me may have deduced that, as the race started in 1980, we should be onto the 41st by now. It has however been cancelled once before. Back then, 2001, it was mad cows marauding across the English countryside which did for the F10k! I.e. the BSE crisis. Outdoor events like the F10k were banned, to reduce the spread. Still, one cancellation and one postponement in a 40 year race history is not bad going! So have you ever wondered how the race has been going for so long? Indeed, how it ever started in the first place? Well, fellow EGRC members, allow me to furnish you with my insider knowledge!

As it’s the 40th anniversary of our beloved F10k it presented the opportunity for me to look into the history of the race over the years. The race has always held a special place in my heart, being the first 10k I ever ran. I have nearly filled up the mug holder in my kitchen with F10k mugs over the years and have dropped a few along the way! Representing EGRC on the F10k race committee for the past 4 years has only cemented that bond. Through my monthly meets with the 4 chaps (yes just 4!) that make up the F10k organising team over the past 4 years I’ve come to feel a part of the team. So I thought wouldn’t it be great to interview John - our main man and sole survivor of the original F10k team - to find out a bit more about how the race came into being and what’s changed over the years. Here are five fabulous fascinating facts I discovered:

1. The race has had 5 different start/finish locos over the years! The very first F10k didn’t start at UWE’s Glenside campus. It started in the playing fields of Cleve Rugby Club on Bromley Health Road in Downend. The very same Rugby Club that are currently our neighbours at Pomphrey Hill. So when we lined up for our Recce Brekkie photo - we were in fact 3 miles from the original start line! The fields where the original race started no longer exist, having since made way for houses. Around 1988 the race was moved to Frenchay Village Hall. Mainly because it had outgrown its original location. The race subsequently moved to Frenchay Hospital nearby. As the race continue to grow, sometime during the 90’s the race moved to what was then The Manor Park Hospital, next door to it’s current location, before finally coming to rest at UWE’s Glenside campus.

2. The infamous hilly nature of the F10k (comprising 3 big hills) is purely coincidental! The route has remained largely unchanged over the years. It was the location of the start/finish points of the race and the scenic, mostly traffic-free route that made hills inevitable.

3. The race was born not from a desire to put on an epic scenic tough little 10k road race! The inspiration came from a lecture delivered by a Professor Hugh Coakham in 1979, a neurosurgeon working at Frenchay Hospital, in order to raise money for research into his pioneering work on brain tumour surgery. John did a bit of running at the time and so thought - why not put on a race?

4. Runners originally received a certificate for completing the race. The famous mugs were added sometime during the 90’s.

5. The current course record holder is held by a chap called Nick Rose and has stood since sometime in the early to mid 80’s. On the day, he ran there from his house a few miles away, ran the thing, won it, then ran home again! Our records don’t go back far enough to know his time, but based on subsequent winners, it must have been under 31 mins 57 secs! Oh and did I mention that he was an Olympian, British 10k champion, & world half marathon record holder in 1979? All being well he will be coming along to start off the race in September and award the trophies! Very exciting.

The fact that the F10k is still going after all these years is testament to the fact that it’s a cracking little route and a well organised race. It’s longevity is certainly a cause for celebration, being one of the longest running 10k’s in the country. May be even the longest! I can’t find a longer running one out in the ether, despite my googlings. It’s these local little 10k’s and running events that I believe we need to treasure. In an increasingly commercial world where running events have become big business, run primarily to make money, it’s the little gems like Frenchay that we need to keep going. Especially as many are under threat and have fallen by the wayside. A race put on for the love of running, for both newer and more experienced runners alike, with a key aim of raising money for worthy local causes. The fact that 100% of proceeds go to charity is a source of pride for me. What’s also a source of pride is the fact that we - EGRC - have helped to keep the race going. Through supporting it this past few years and helping to bring it into the 21st century. Can you believe that a record-breaking 62 of us signed up to enter it this year!? Amazing!

So my fellow EGRC, we shan’t let a pesky global pandemic stop us! Once this is all over let us, our mini EGRC army, line up on the start line at 11am on Sunday the 6th September to take on the 40th Frenchay 10k. May it be the biggest and best one ever! May we, EGRC, make history!