Running log

The biggest race in Bradford for decades takes place on Sunday morning at 9am, with 1,500 registrations making the Bradford 10K the largest spring event over the distance in West Yorkshire.

The revised course from City Hall involves less of a climb through Little Germany and a slight extension along Canal Road towards Shipley and promises to generate more personal bests than ever.

Katie Stocks, from organisers Epilepsy Action in Rawdon, is delighted with the turn-out. It is partly a testament to their more intensive recruitment at local races but also witness to a boom in running since the Olympics, which has pushed athletics into the second most-participated sport in Britain.

The weather forecast is for perfect mild conditions. Friends, family and spectators can benefit from stalls near the start-finish area by City Park and can warm themselves with drinks as the runners return past the Midland Hotel down Market Street.

Lucy Archer, from England Athletics, will have a stall in City Hall, with videos about getting involved in running and of initiatives to establish yet more recreational running groups across the district.

Local club leagues and networks have been provided places to generate a competitive front-end to the race, with the hope of beating last year’s course record set by Tesfaye Debele.

Invitational teams from Airedale Athletics, who provide the 40 course marshals, Otley and the Peco League are all taking part.

Other evidence of the athletics boom is in the record registration for the Enhanced Training Programme that takes place on Monday evenings at Bradford Grammar School and on Wednesdays at the UAK track, Keighley.

With the light spring evenings, the BGS indoor strength and conditioning sessions have become hill rep work. The track sessions involve drills and speed work. Both are led by Ilona Melounova and Brian Scobie, two of the best coaches in the region.

The spring weather has not only brought out the crocuses to Lister Park but record numbers to the weekly park runs from the bandstand on Saturday mornings at 9am.

A total of 392 took part in the latest, with Andy Siddle and Claire Hern the first male and female finishers.