A LIFELONG runner is training hard for his first ever Stratford 10k.
Daniel Payne is running up to 40 miles a week as part of his training regime to prepare for the race on Sunday (September 4).
And he has his sights set on crossing the finishing line in ‘anything under 50 minutes’.
No stranger to distance running races, Daniel completed the Rotary Shakespeare Marathon earlier this year in four hours 32 seconds, the 2021 Coventry Half Marathon in one hour 46 minutes, and the Birmingham Half Marathon 2021 in one hour 51 minutes.
Daniel is running the 10k as part of Lodders Solicitors corporate team that includes returning runners Dan Macleod, Lydia Elvin, Maria Fitzgerald, Anna Turnell, experienced runners Mike Poole, Jane Senior and Jon Wood, and newbies Hilary Campton and Angela Howard.
Daniel said: “I love the simplicity of running. No specialist equipment is required – except a decent pair of trainers – it’s just you and your determination. I always feel better after a run, regardless of how reluctant I am to go out running in the first place.
“The mental strength required to persist and push through on long runs serves me well in other areas of life.”
More than 700 runners are already entered into the 2022 Stratford 10k. As in previous years, all competitors will set off from the Shipston Road adjacent to the Recreation Ground at 9.30am. The race route will take them past many of Stratford’s famous landmarks, including the RSC Theatre, and finish at the bandstand.
With medals for all finishing runners there are prizes for the first three male and female finishers and the first over the line in each age group starting from 35 and going up in 10-year increments.
