The start of a long weekend

Peter Bradley - started the weekend in top forms on the roads

I've enjoyed the Dave Philips road race series a lot more since they moved to St Johns in 2008.

Originally held around the streets of Peel on a 2 x 2 mile course in the early 80s, this course eventually became too dangerous and a 2 lap course from Peel campsite along the Poortown Road for a mile and back was introduced. I never liked the course as you were constantly going up and down off the pavement trying to avoid the runners coming in the opposite direction.

Almost half of the current course is traffic free and although its a bit longer it is easier to do 4 laps than to turn three times.

That said, I have trained in the morning each time I have run there this year with a hard session planned the day after, although this time I postponed my long run due to the weather forecast for Saturday. I'm running a lot slower than in 2008, the summer that I am trying to replicate for form.

In that year I was running 28 minutes or faster. On Friday I ran a few seconds faster than in round 1 but I was more than a minute slower than Peter Bradley.

Ben Scott, who with wife Isla, runs Scott Physiotherapy, the sponsors of the Western AC promotion, was the fastest but 46 seconds slower than him was Peter Bradley. His time of 27.30 was a massive improvement from last year and an even bigger improvement over 2008 when he was over 30 minutes in some races.

For me, that breakthrough was the best part of the start of the long weekend.