This time last year, I was pregnant, but very few people knew, so I chose to be a pacer at Eastleigh 10k. It meant that I was able to take part in the race without people encouraging me to push myself harder than would have been good for me. I really enjoyed the experience and although my running is going well, I know I’m not on PB form, so when I was given the opportunity to be a pacer again this year, I jumped at the chance.
Eastleigh 10k is known for a being a fast flat race, so it is very popular. There are currently building works going on at the leisure centre where it starts, so we had to get there early to find a parking space.
©Paul A. Hammond
I was partnered with Heloise Hunt, a fellow Lordshill Road Runner and parkrunner. We were confident that we could maintain the appropriate pace, so were determined to have fun, as these pictures from Paul Hammond show.
© Paul A. Hammond
©Paul A. Hammond
It was also Baby M’s first race as it had been agreed that buggies were allowed to take part in the event. It was quite chilly and windy, so Stu decided to run with the rain cover on to give M a bit more shelter.
Stuart running with Baby M
Despite Stu telling me that he was going to take it easy, he finished in 49:37, which is quicker than my PB!
Heloise and I managed to motivate a number of runners to keep going when they were struggling and also helped a group of runners to achieve under 65 minutes.
I finished in 1:04:53, so just under the 65 minutes that I was pacing… and I really enjoyed the whole experience of my first road race after having M.
Now the decision is whether I want to race Eastleigh 10k and go for a PB next year, or whether I’d like to pace again!
Fat Girl to Ironman 
Well done to the Smiths!