The Lostock Hall 5k is a road race held on closed roads taking advantage of the carnival procession and sneaking in there just before the start when the traffic is stopped Due to whats happening next you are guaranteed big crowds and with me having lived in this big city for over half a century its rather special to me also having played for and managed at both Lostock Hall football teams for quite a few years I tend to get one or two shout outs.
Onto the start line and its obligatory scan the field for who else is of a similar seniority to myself Our very own Mr Addison was there and as it normally takes him three miles to catch me (I always go off too fast) I knew it would be a close run thing and to ramp up the pressure even more Gary David Bailey stumped up a massive 50 pence prize fund for the first Roser home Boom game on
Being held on the start line for quite some time added to the pressure and then it was GO and I think I took an early lead all be it for only a few seconds but to lead your home race in front of large crowds is pretty heart wrenching it was my finest ever four yards.
It was a mad dash down to the Pleasant Retreat pub and a sharp left on to the main drag which was lined 5 or 6 deep and off into the strong head wind heading out of the city the crowds thin a little as there are no pubs in that area we headed towards Penwortham and swung a sharp left on to Bee lane right to the end and round the cone and head off back to the big city and you guessed it the wind was against us again.
The first mile due to the wind was a sedate 5 min 45 second one The 50 pence was in Pauls pocket by this time but Mr Addison was still behind we flew back to the Tardy Gate pub and swung another left on to Brownedge Rd the crowds at this point were massive (two pubs and three social clubs might have something to do with this) and off towards The Brigg with a massive head wind and who drifts past KEN and its only taken him two miles to get me the second wind inhibited mile was a shade over 6 mins.
As we left the big city center the crowds thinned again and we were onto the quiet back roads and after a sharp right the wind was at its cruelest popping out back on the main road near the Victoria Pub its a mad dash back towards the Pleasant pub and hit the finish line thoughts of catching Ken were snatched away by the wind I still cant work out how if you go in a very large loop the wind can be against you all race but hey ho its the same for everyone the one exception being the race clock with the last mile being the slowest at around 6 mins 15 seconds
With a finish time of 19 mins 12 seconds I thought the hard work was done for the day
How wrong could I have been in true Red Rose style we swamped the prize giving with loads of bottles of vino coming our way and even one into my lap and before I knew it the large Red Rose contingent had moved to their second social club of the day with beers flying down like they were going to be made illegal later on in the evening Plenty of beer and snooker later it was off to Lostock Halls finest Indian restaurant for much needed sustenance and you guessed it more beer (well they do say its dangerous not to replace lost fluids)
Having left my house at 11 30 am dressed only in running gear and wearing my garmin the day became somewhat of a marathon and the watch gave up mid evening (maybe me and Mrs Cann should have listened to it) and in true Red Rose style we partied the night away only we can turn a 5k race into a marathon.
Long may it continue
—