Starting on the very outskirts of Oxford from the football stadium, the course was one loop, taking runners into the heart of the city.

Supporting Nik Windle who was wearing his VRUK vest for the first time, I had to get on my fold-up bike to reach the venue and attempt to see the course from different points. I wondered whether I felt more exhausted by the end of the day after racing round at slow speed in an attempt to reach the finish before Nik. In fact I was not aware until later that the event started 15 minutes late otherwise I would most likely have missed Nik.

Nik finished in a respectable 1.47.22, only 3 mins outside his PB. We also briefly met a runner wearing a t-shirt saying ‘No meat….’, well done to him. Nik I believe passed the campaigner during the run.