Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Croy 10k
by Russell Turner - 19:11 on 07 June 2026
The Croy 10k is another small race (250 runners) close to Inverness; it’s the fifth this year where I’ve made a debut. The duo behind it stage the Moray Marathon, Kinloss-Lossie HM and Lossie 10 Mile Turkey Trot; they’re also involved in a bakery, hence the promise of lots of free cake at the end.
It’s a well organised event, with strict instructions re parking because Croy is a very small village. Even so, it was no problem finding the designated spot, just a few minutes’ walk from Race HQ and the start line at the village hall where assorted club vests were prominent but ordinary competitors made up a good proportion of the crowd. When the time came, I took my regular place at the rear of the throng and marvelled at the pristine whiteness of the Glycerins sported by one runner who clearly didn’t subscribe to the “never run in new shoes” rule.
The first kilometre took us through the village then out on to the Cawdor road where we dutifully stayed left because it’s not a closed road race. Traffic was light, the scenery was green, my pace was comfortable. So far, so good.
After 2k we diverted off the road and through woodland to bypass Clephanton, the next village along. Maybe there’s some rivalry going on. Having avoided it we returned to proper road at 3k, making a sharp left turn at 4.5k to join an even quieter back road through even more rural scenery. I hit 5k at just under one-hour pace, speeding up over the downhill-assisted next kilometre. It couldn’t last.
Slight inclines led to a couple of walk breaks, then even more after 8k when the undulations became more plentiful, as did opportunities for chat with other walkers, culminating in the steepest hill at around 9.5k. I assume that it was chance that the enthusiastic marshal’s music choice was AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top If You Want To Rock and Roll”, rather than him having it on a loop. Whatever, it was needlessly cruel to me and a few other fellow strugglers.
The hill finally crested, just two minutes’ running took us to the finish line where volunteers bent to remove the timing chips from our shoes (I don’t think I could have reached) and others presented medals. I’d finished in 1:03 – faster than Wakefield and Tomatin, and with a sub-30min 5k (just), so I was satisfied.
Back at the village hall I couldn’t be bothered with the huge cake queue so settled for the banana I’d brought with me and eavesdropped on the guy next to me complaining to his friend that he’d not been able to maintain his 5min/kilometre pace until the end. We all have our own races.
Not having done consistent training for this, I knew a sub-60min finish was unlikely. Instead I’ll use Croy as a benchmark ahead of a proper six-week training plan for the Durham 10k and the York 10k two weeks later, both much bigger events. Five weeks after that the Banbury 10k takes place. Will that be the year’s 10k climax or will I have peaked in York? Time will tell.
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