My Standalone Story: Richard Webber

I first ran the Standalone 10k back in 2014, long before I became an NHRR club member. Back then, it was my longest race to date, indeed only my second ever race, with the first being a Sport Relief 3-miler. I ran in aid of The MS Trust, an excellent charity dealing with MS specialist healthcare services and people with MS across the UK. My training time for 10k had been around 57 minutes, so I was delighted to have completed it in 52:48 on the day, especially considering I hadn’t been well the night before. Somehow, the adrenaline must have kicked in and given me the boost I needed. The photo included with the 2014 T-shirt was taken at my next attempt the following year.
Three subsequent official attempts followed through to 2017, and I managed to improve my time to 52:34 on one attempt, which stood as a course PB until this year’s virtual event, when I managed to do it in 49:15 - though as we all know, we were unable to complete exactly the same route due to safety issues relating to the lack of road closures.
The Standalone 10K will always be a special event for me due to it being the first truly competitive race I ever took part in and the first time I came into contact with NHRR. My collection of 5 race T-shirts and 2017 30-year anniversary medal hold a treasured place in my collection.
Here’s to many more years of the Standalone 10K.

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