On 11th May, I raced the Mow Cop Killer Mile for the third time but this my daughter also took part in the kid’s Killer Mile.

There was a really big turnout this year which was super pleasing, this is a small-town race operated by the local running club and only returned in 2022 after disappearing from the calendar for 3 years.

First up were the under-12’s with nearly 200 kids taking part.

This was Sienna’s first ever race so talk about jumping in at the deep end. The kid’s race starts a little way up the hill but still, 1km with 380ft of gain is tough going for the under 12’s but she did really well and enjoyed it, she was happy to get the medal but more impressed with a packet of crisps.

After running the kid’s race as a “warm-up”, it was my turn. In the Mow Cop Killer Mile 2022 I raced the club run but as I am not running for City of Stoke AC for this year I dropped into the “fun run” which goes off before the club run.

So the Mow Cop Killer Mile is a 1-mile race without a single meter of flat running. In total, the mile rises 560ft at an average 11% incline with a couple of 25% sections. It’s a 1-mile time trial where I am happy to be within 4 minutes of my 1-mile PB.

After a bit of rain during the kid’s race, the sun came out for the fun run and the road quickly dried. With living a mile from Mow Cop and using this hill for a lot of my hill rep sessions I knew it could be slippery if it was wet so I was thankful for the drying road.

I lined up at the front just behind the local football juniors. Having spent the last 4 months training for the Boston Marathon and London Marathon, I wasn’t used to the short racing but I was still aiming for under 9 minutes and was pushing to beat last year’s 8:52 PB.

I was in 5th position more or less from start to finish, I did pass one guy but then I was passed by another when I briefly walked up some of the steep 25% section near the top. I went out a bit too fast and paid for it with my heart rate maxing out within minutes of starting.

I only walked for 30 secs or so to bring my heart rate down slightly then got going again. I can’t remember a single time where I have run the full mile without walking parts so this year was no exception to the rule.

In the end, I finished in 8:48 and maintained that 5th place finish. That gave me a 4-second PB so I was happy with that.

This is not one to run if you are looking for an easy time, the constant uphill and steepness are really challenging, everyone that makes it to the finish line has done so well and no doubt really pushed their limits on that hill.

Every year I say never again yet here we are three Killer Miles under my belt.