Pensford 10k History


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History of the Pensford 10k

Organised by local enthusiasts, led by Pete and Helen McGuinness, the first Pensford 10k took place in May 1988. The Fun Run partnered the event, and was organised by Pensford Primary School P.T.A.

The event has been staged every year since, and although there have been many close results, the course record, set in 1992, still stood until 2005 when the course route was altered.

When the McGuinness family migrated to the USA , the 10k batton was taken over by Russ Lawton, almost single handed, from 1993 until 2000, aided by local volunteers on the day.

When Russ retired, and the future of the 10k was in the balance, it was obvious that no single person could manage the increasing complexity of race organisation, and a committee of local enthusiasts formed, determined to preserve the event.

Their first event was a ‘baptism of fire', with foot and mouth disease breaking out. As fate would have it, it probably helped to swell the field because many more rural races were closed by the epidemic. Generous sponsorship, helped secure the future of the event, and made possible an attractive prize structure.

In 2002, the website was launched, and computer registration started. In 2003 new race management software helped produce speedier results.and in 2004 the event website was expanded, to include an archive, and on-line entry. We adopted the Bristol Cancer Help Centre as our ‘official charity' for 2004, and received B.A.R.R. Silver Standard accreditation.

In 2004 enhancements to the organisation guided by advice from the British Association of Road Races resulted in promotion to BARR gold standard, and the 2005 race continued to expand. We moved the start location to allow increased capacity, and altered the course slightly to accommodate this.

In 2007 we had to cope with the headquarters building being closed for repairs despite which our 20th anniversary was a great success.

In 2008 we incorporated chip timing to help improve our eresults service. We continue to streamline our operation each year and hope that our silver jubilee event will be our best

For the nostalgic, a series of photos from the 1991 & 1992 10ks, courtesy of the race founder are available on the following links. The 1991 gallery is a bit corrupt, but the pictures can still be opened.