Battle of the 10ks
April to May is typically 10k season, with races including Little Bromley, Alton Water, Colchester Stampede and Woodbridge. With all these races cancelled or postponed we’ve created a new challenge in which you can win yourselves a medal and donate to a local NHS charity. See this post from Kevin Ward for more information, including how to register for a medal!
BATTLE OF THE 10Ks
Results as of 01/06/2020
| Route | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 |
| Lil Brokeley | 6 | 23 | 29 | 34 | 36 | 37 |
| ALtoNS Water | 3 | 10 | 20 | 36 | 39 | 52 |
| Colchester Road | 3 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 41 | 55 |
| To Woodbridge | 0 | 5 | 19 | 29 | 38 | 44 |
Please see below for links to the route GPX, the Strava segment, and a detailed route guide for each. If you’re not worried about a medal you can still run the routes for fun, and post photos. Your segment will still count towards the 10k Battle, and you’ll hopefully enjoy yourself and maybe run somewhere new. Please note, this is a bit of fun, not a formal event. Medals will be ordered after the 31st May once everyone has had the chance to do all the runs.
| 10k Route | Strava Route | Garmin Route | Strava Segment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lil Brokeley No graveyard in sight on this undulating jaunt around Broke Hall and Bixley – the ‘Lil Brokeley’ is a challenging replacement for Little Bromley, that will leave you wishing for flat country lanes |  |  |  |
| ALtoNS Water Who needs a reservoir when you can enjoy the quiet trails around the natural springs of Newbourne – you’ll probably want to stay a while, and forget the segment! | | | |
| Colchester Road Stampede Fast, flat (mostly!) and with limited changes of direction; this is even better than the real thing. Save a little energy for the bridge in the middle, and you’ve got a chance at a PB! | | | |
| To Woodbridge Just remember that nearly all of these hills are also in the actual Woodbridge 10k, and most of them are run twice – blame them, not us! | | | |
There is no prize for being quickest on any of these routes, so take your time and enjoy the scenary. Choose to run 1 or run 4 – it is entirely up to you how you participate in this challenge.
Note: we will crown the winning event based on the number of people completing Strava segments on each route.
Lil Brokeley 10k
Lil Brokeley takes in the suburbs of Broke Hall and Bixley, with a return around the outskirts of Rushmere Common and old Kesgrave. The first half contains several turns down roads that may be unfamilar and are hard to signpost, so be careful not to get lost.
The starting location for Lil Brokeley is Bell Lane, just opposite the junction with Penzance Road. Head south down Bell Lane, towards Foxhall Road, and turn right when you reach the junction. After the downhill and uphill on Foxhall Road you’ll reach a right turn to Broadlands Way – take this road in to Bixley. Broadlands Way itself goes down and up, and then bears left past the Bixley shops and Water Tower. It bears left again, and you must then look closely for a right turn on Bixley Drive. Follow Bixley Drive until you come back out on Foxhall Road opposite The Golf pub.
On Foxhall Road turn right, and cross over. You’re looking for the left turn into Arundel Way, which is second on the left. The road sign is only on the near side of this road, so careful you don’t miss it. Continue on Arundel Way, and you’ll reach a fork where you can bear right or continue straight – please bear right here. At the end of Arundel Way you’ll reach a sign for Ashdown Way, and turn left here. Ashdown Way also bears right, before ending at Bixley Road – where you should turn right.
Head up Bixley Road, over the roundabout and up Heath Road – give a wave as you pass the Hospital on the left. At the top of Heath Road turn right on the A1214 Main Road alongside the golf course. At the traffic lights turn right on Beech Road for the final mile. The finish line is just past the Penzance Road shops at the junction with Helston Close.
ALtoNS Water 10k
ALtoNS Water (otherwise known as the Avocet Lane to Newbourne Springs Water) is a trail route – like its namesake. The route is a little more complex than the road routes, but the scenary is fantastic, and the trail is less traversed than most.
The start and finish is at the end of Avocet Lane, on the east side of Martlesham Heath, just off Eagle Way. Head north, as you would for the Martlesham 5k/10k, follow the footpath as it forks to the left before you reach the roundabout. Before you reach Martlesham Square there is a sharp right, and up over the A12 bridge. Cross over the road ahead, and continue straight along Betts Avenue. At the end of this road there is a path on the left leading straight ahead, to a bolted gate, go through the gate to start the trail section.
After the gate turn right and then immediately left, so the wood is on your right side. After 200 metres you’ll come out on a wide vehicle width track – keep going straight, with an embankment on your right side. After 400 metres the path will fork (and the gpx route will encourage you to follow the narrow path), but keep going on the wide track. After a further 600 metres you’ll reach an intersection, take the left and come out on Newbourne Road, turning right and running next to the Waldringfield Golf Course. The road here should be quiet, but be careful as you follow it down.
Continue straight over at the cross roads, ignore the first ‘Passing Place’ sign after 5 metres, and continue 300 metres along the road until you reach another sign marked ‘Passing Place’. At the sign you’ll find a trail off to your right, take this, and after 100 metres when you reach a fork in the path follow the left hand rising trail, avoiding the right hand route that descends down towards a big open barn. This is now the main trail into and through Newbourne Springs – much of it on railway sleepers, so be careful of your footing. Towards the end of this side of the trail you’ll be pushed left, slightly off the gpx track, and through a small field into a car park – this is correct! Exit the car park on to the road, turn right, and then right again into Newbourne. The Fox pub should be on your right, and you’ll be turning right as you pass the end of their carpark, on to Fenn Lane.
You’re now on the return leg. Within the first kilometre passing back through Newbourne Springs there will a couple of optional paths on the right but keep choosing the left/straight options. After another 500 metres you’ll hit a T intersection, and here you must take the right hand path, using the big BT building in the distance as a guide point. The paths twist and turn, but keep following the most obvious choice towards BT if you feel unsure. You’ll reach a road to cross over, and then can follow a much wider trail along the back of the BT grounds. At the corner of the BT site, with an installation of satellites on your left, is where you should turn left, and have the wood on your right. After 350 metres you’ll reach the same gate you came through earlier, at the end of Betts Avenue.
Head back through the gate, and then retrace your steps; along Betts Avenue, cross and over the A12 bridge, sharp left before Martlesham Square, and then out on Eagle Way until you reach the finish line at Avocet Lane!
Caution
In addition to the general roots, trees and uneven footing you’d expect on a trail route there are 2 latch gates, 1 bolt gate that is used twice, and 1 kissing gate. If you are concerned about touching gates at this time then you may wish to avoid this route or take hand sanitizer with you on your run.
Please be advised that bikes are not allowed through Newbourne Springs section.
Colchester Road Stampede 10k
Colchester Road Stampede has the potential to be the fastest of the Battle 10k segments – it also follows the simplest route. Your starting location is the top end of Bell Lane. You can start on either side of the road, although there is typically less pedestrian traffic on the north side. The first half of the route follows the A1214 West along Main Road, before turning right after the Applegreen petrol station on to Colchester Road. Continue on the right hand pavement, taking care on the crossings. The route continues until the end of Colchester Road – this is sadly past the Co-op, over the railway bridge, and until you reach the end of the cemetary on the left, and reach the signs for Tuddenham Road. Turn back the way you came here!
On your return you’ll cross the railway again, then take a left on Sidegate Lane, past Northgate, and continue to the end of this road. Next turn right on Humber Doucy Lane, and continue until it ends on Playford Road. At this point you’ll need to turn right, cross over, and then after 100 metres curve round to the left, back on to Main Road. There is now a 2k finish straight, ending at the exact same point you started, opposite the top of Bell Lane!
To Woodbridge 10k
The To Woodbridge route begins just outside the boundaries of Kesgrave, so that it is possible to include most of a single lap of the Woodbridge 10k course. This is the most hilly of the 4 routes, so get your climbing quads on, and pace yourself accordingly! The starting location is at the end of Black Tiles Lane, near the Black Tiles pub. It is recommended to start and finish on the pavement opposite from the pub, to reduce the amount of roads to cross.
Head down into Martlesham, past the Red Lion on your left, until you reach Sandy Lane on your right just after a closed garage. Sandy Lane is nearly a mile long, and is a narrow country road, so be careful of traffic in both directions, especially as you pass under the railway bridge. The second part is quite a steep uphill, but then we did warn you! At the end of Sandy Lane turn right on Ipswich Road.
If you know the Woodbridge 10k route then follow it until The Duke of York pub and rejoin instructions from green text below.
Follow Ipswich Road down past The Cherry Tree, and Deben Pools. Continue along this main road, with Co-op car park on your left, where you’ll need to cross as the right side pavement runs out. The road curves with Elmhurst Park on your left behind a red brick wall. Keep going as the road bears left and up a slight hill. Just after the traffic lights you’ll reach another Red Lion pub, and can turn sharp left into the cobbled Thoroughfare and run 400 metres past all the main Woodbridge shops.
At the crossroads with The Crown pub and Prezzo turn right on to Church Street. This road gets progressively steeper up to Woodbridge Town Square. You’ll want to follow the pavement round to the left here, heading along Seckford Street. Enjoy views over a park on your left, and Seckford Almshouses on your right before the road bears left and you need to cross to run up Drybridge Hill. This is hill is character building, and remember, it is in the Woodbridge 10k route, not just something we added here for fun! Plenty of time to recover over the next half mile down to The Duke of York pub.
Those who knew the Woodbridge 10k route, please rejoin here.
At The Duke of York pub carefully cross straight over to the road named California. This brings you back to Sandy Lane, where you can turn right and enjoy the downhill! You are now retracing your steps back to the end of Black Tiles Lane; that is left at the end of Sandy Lane, straight up Red Lion hill, continue straight to the right side of J’s Fish and Chips and finish at the same spot you started.
