I was a virgin until......

[batman]

I was a 10k virgin until yesterday. Ran the Newport Carnival 10k through the undulating Shropshire countryside on a beautiful day. It started on a school playing field. We ran along country lanes to Newport town centre where enthusiastic crowds lined the high street and gave us all much needed encouragement. They were waiting to see the carnival procession which followed the runners so we were a bit of light entertainment before the main event. High fived the kids then it was out of town back along country roads, up,up and up through fields running single file with the wheat up to our waists, still going up till we reached a breatheless high point.
Admired the view.
Then it was down, down, down for miles (maybe a couple) - saw our cars parked not too far away. Back along roads- friendly marshalls in yellow jackets- onto the school playing field and a sprint to the finish.
Goody bag, water, cup of tea, cake.
46mins I think but not had official time yet.
Really enjoyed this run. Any other good 10ks you can recommend?

[El Gordo]

Well run, batman. 46 minutes is pretty good for an undulating first 10K, and it's much faster than I'll ever run a flat one.

Hard to recommend 10Ks becasue there are so many of them around. In a funny way, one of the nice things about them is that very few of them are regarded as "must do" events, partly I suppose because most of them have very small fields. It's not unusual to have maximums of 2 or 300, and 1000 is a big one. This makes it hard for one event to acquire some sort of mass appeal. Also, the distance is too short for most people to want to travel a long distance to do one.

I think one of the pleasures of the 10K is to discover your own local favourites. Where I live, there are several good ones that I'd recommend, but I couldn't honestly urge people to travel from the other end of the country to do them. I've enjoyed almost all the ones I've done - the Datchet Dash, the Goring 10K, Mortimer, Blenheim Palace, Grazeley, the Oracle 10K, Hyde Park on New Year's Day, Cliveden at Christmas.

Take a look at the Runner's World Events service and see what's going on in your area. What is your area...?

[batman]

I think your right, there's no point travelling the length and breadth of the country just for a 10k. I'm sure people have their own favourites in their areas. My area is the West Midlands. I will certainly be looking out for the Newport Carnival 10k next year. There was an amazing contrast between the start in the countryside, a charge along Newport High St with cheering crowds,and then running through a wheat field to the top of a hill and down to the finish. All within 47mins! Surely this has to be one of the best local 10ks. But then how would I know- it's the first I've ever done!
On Sunday I'm doing the Shifnal Steeplechase Half Marathon. Bit worried about this as I've virtually given up on long runs since the FLM. I may get a bit of a shock.