Although no records were broken by runners, in other ways this year’s Shinfield was a record-breaking day. Not only did the 10k sell out for the first time in a very long time (perhaps ever), the Junior Races attracted record numbers. The Junior Races have become a real feature with numbers more than doubling in recent years. We expect that some of the runners will become our future members.

All told, more than 1,240 runners of all ages took part in the various races. These unprecedented numbers boosted income from the event and the resulting surplus will support the valuable work of both of the event’s own charity Rainbow Trust Thames Valley Branch based in in Swallowfield and the club charity Chemogiftbags.

In the races themselves, while there was a decent sprinkling of club runners, the majority of runners are non-affiliated. I like to think that after running at Shinfield some of them will join a running club.

In the 10k James Lyne was not quite able to repeat last year’s victory, finishing in second. Jamie Darling won the MV40 category and Rita Dykes picked up the FV70 trophy.

Each passing year organising events such as Shinfield and Bramley becomes more complex, which is why this year we needed more than 70 marshals – this itself must be some sort of record. One of the most common comments after the event was how well marshalled the races were and how enthusiastic and supportive our fantastic marshals. With planning for this year’s event starting way back in October 2025, I would personally like to thank Shinfield’s small but perfectly formed and hard-working Races Committee: Ian Giggs; Angela Burley; Tom Harrison; Liz Atkinson; Andy Atkinson; Cecilia Csemiczky, Tim Miller and Kirsty Moulsley.
From its early days back in 1985, Shinfield has always been a community event, which is why we were delighted to accede to requests from various local groups and food vendors to have stalls at both the 10k and Junior Races. Thank-you to everyone who provided cakes, biscuits and other for the club’s refreshment stall.

A big thank-you in particular to the following organisations, who supported this year’s event. Our sponsors, Honeysuckle Day Nursery the main sponsor, Parkers, and eCapital. Lidl for the chocolate bars, water and bananas, Shinfield Scouts for the water station and their extreme weather shelter. Volker Highways for the barriers. A special thank-you to Ellie Barnes from Barnes Fitness, who stepped in at the very last minute to do the PA. Vistry for allowing us to close Beke Avenue. Reading University for allowing us to use the car park at Thames Valley Science Park, for removing concrete barriers and for the use of Langley Mead.

But above all a big thank-you to you Reading Roadrunners’ members, without whom Shinfield would not have been possible.

Colin Cottell
Race director
Shinfield 10k 2026