Selecting my tune-up races...

One of my favourite parts of running is racing, even though I rarely actually race a race, by which I mean I'm never racing against other people and I'm very often not going all out myself. I like the atmosphere, the build up of anticipation and the chat and fun afterwards with my club-mates. I like adding to my medal collection and Facebook album of race numbers, and running somewhere different. 

Starting out on another training cycle I have a couple of races planned in before Ljubljana Half. The first is a leg of the JW Ultra, which I've wanted to race for a few years and eventually would like to complete the full ultra. I've also recently won a place at the Thoresby 10, which is the week before the Ljubljana Half and I have the choice of 10k or 10mile - heart says 10 miles but head says 10k is better just seven days before my target race. There's also the Midlands Road Relays and I'm looking out for another 10k somewhere in the mix.

One race that has been on the calendar for the last couple of years is the Bournville Leafy 10k, our club race. It's a great race and perfectly timed as a tune-up race for the Great Birmingham Run, with a couple of similar climbs. This year I'll be helping to marshal the event, and I'm looking forward to taking part in a different way. 

How do you use tune-up races in your training? What do you learn from them and when are they a good idea (and not so good?)