Back after an 18 month absence, this fast course represented a welcome opportunity to shake off the last of my winter ailments and get back into some running.

As it happens, I have done very little running training since November, as we've moved house and have been busy decorating, shifting furniture etc. I was therefore not expecting great things, but was determined to scrape under 45 mins if I could. As scraping under 45 mins was all I did last year, I was concerned that this might not be possible given my lack of activity lately.

However, I set off with the large crowd of runners that assemble for Chichester determined to not wilt too badly. The first 2K take you out of Chichester and I kept comfortably under 9 mins for this section. Once beyond the houses, the undulations begin as you run along the country lanes towards Goodwood. Despite these gentle slopes, 3K and 4K went past and I didn't exceded 4.5 mins for either.

Once you pass the entrance to Goodwood, the half way mark isn't far away and I reached it at about 22 mins. Training is clearly overated I began to think! However, not wanting to tempt fate too much, I kept my pace in check allowing myself a short burst of speed only as we descended into a small rural village at about 7K. As you reach this marker there is a short steep hill where it's worth taking a small breather pace wise so you can prepare for the charge home.

After a route of shallow climbs, you are rewarded with a 2K descent towards the finish back in Chichester. It's not that much of a downhill to be fair, but it's enough of a gradient to enable you to really pick up the pace with about being unduly punished. I hit 8K at 35 mins and 20 secs and was now more than confident of achieving my goal. I decided to go for 4 min pace for the last 2K, hoping now to get under 44 mins instead.

I passed quite a few runners over this final stretch who were beginning to flag (always satisfying!) and possibly could have done a sprint finish. However, feeling slightly nauseous by this point, I elected to slow myself slightly and avoid my usual vomiting session at the finish line. I therefore lost about 10 places as some others sprinted home.

Crossing the line, I stopped the watch at 00:43:30. Not a PB for this course, but faster than any 10K I did last year and with no preparation to speak of either. Needless to say, I was reasonable happy with it and look forward to getting that weekly mileage back to something respectable.