General Blog, Old Tram Mile Series
Old Tram Mile 2022 Series – Race 1 (July) Review
Jul
OTM 2022 Race 1 (July) Review
On Sat 16th July, TheRunBible hosted it’s first actual in-person event in the North West of England (after plenty of virtual and solo versions, during the dreaded recent pandemic times of 2020 & 2021). The first of the three-part 1-mile Old Tram Mile 2022 race series went really well!
Why? An amazing bunch of hi-viz heroes, a generous race HQ (thank you The Hunters), a super group of runners, and a fab route – we had a blast!
We’re spoilt with the Old Tram Road, such a beautiful (thankfully shaded…) route. The support of Lancs County Council (specifically Tony Lund) has been fundamental, with Steve Ashcroft being of immense help not only with gun timing but also part-time therapist to Race Director Dan.
TRB Core Principle – Value for Money
We’re sure you’ll agree that the race series is good value for money – this will be a key principle for TRB going forward whilst giving lots of choice. Start with entry only and you build your own race package with optional add-on extra’s (engraved medals, custom t-shirts & hoodies (more info here), plant a tree in the TRB grove (more info here), TRB event notch (more info here), donations to Rosemere Cancer Foundation etc.). For our series we’re offering…
Just £3 (affiliated) & £5 (unaffiliated) to enter per race. £4 / £6 cash on the day (cash only) entry per race Engraved medals, custom event t-shirts & hoodies, donations to our chosen charity Rosemere Cancer Foundation are all optional extra’s & only if you want them (or stick to entry only) UKA licensed event and officially measured course Very fast (slightly downhill) fully tarmac route Free parking, toilets & bag drop available at Race HQ Individual and team prizes Goody bags for everyone included in entry fee Kids allowed (5 years+ when accompanied by an adult) Start time is 11.15am per race, enough time to do the popular nearby Preston Parkrun to warm-up for your 1-mile blast 
Race HQ is a fantastic pub with great food, drinks and live music from 3pm on the day!Fab Feedback – Keep it coming
- Printing peoples ICE (In Case of Emergency) details on the back of their bibs (saving folk, who entered in advance, from having to scribble them in on race day) – “I hate having to do that, after I’ve already told race companies when entering...”
- Carefully reading peoples entries and showing an individual interest, such as when someone states they have a medical condition or allergy – “Thanks again for your kind consideration to my allergy. You are the only race organisers who have contacted me about it, I really appreciate that.“
- Offering tailored experiences when people do choose to spend a bit more on extra’s – like on a medal, engraving the specific dates & race times – “I think I’d like one with the date and time on it. Looking forward to the event!”
- Or offering to print whatever they’d like on a race t-shirt – “I can have my name on it too – awesome!“
- Making sure there was an ice cold bottle of water at the finish line, rather than people having to get from their goody bag at Race HQ (a mile walk away) – “I was so glad there was really cold water at the finish“
- “You should hand out some leaflets at local parkruns and nearby cafes, loads of people would love this event“
We welcome your feedback and with each event we’ll continue to improve things, create a great atmosphere and communal vibe.
Race 1 Results
Anyway, race day – We had two sub-5 minute mile runners due to attend who unfortunately couldn’t make it across from Manchester. Then had a 17-year old speedster, who entered on the day, from Preston Harriers come along and ran 4 minutes & 49 seconds!!!!
Overall Winner & First Male: Billy Reid – we salute you! Seriously awesome running dude – 4.49 matches the all time Strava segment record, found here).
First Female: The battle for first lady went right down to the final 100 metres, with Jayne Perry from Garstang RC just pipping Melissa Houghton from Red Rose Runners. Amazing running both and seriously speedy times (6.15 and 6.19 respectively).
Team winners: Unfortunately we didn’t have three+ female runners from the same club – so no team prize on that front. However, Preston Harriers seriously brought their mens A Team – With a podium clean sweep from Billy Reid (4.49), Chris Williams (5.00) and Dougie Potter (5.09) – Men’s team winners!
