Gloucester Half Marathon

Yesterday (Sunday) I competed in yet another Half Marathon at Newent, near Gloucester.

This year I've been entering quite a few races as I think that is a good way to sort out "the wheat from the chaff" i.e. I can decide which events I will enter on a regular basis in the future, and which ones I will give a miss. At the same time, I decided only to enter one half marathon this month and next (Pewsey half marathon) so that I can concentrate on long runs in the last weeks before the marathon.

This race provided a more than useful workout.

I travelled up there with Andy, a mate from the running club. He drove and I navigated. I was quite happy with this as I've got a hire car at the moment which I'm still not all that comfortable with.

It was his second half but the Reading half was a bit of a non-event for him - he was sick during the race and finished in about 2hrs 20 mins. He's quite a bit quicker than me so that really is no reflection of his ability, but he was still quite nervous about the distance - he tends to prefer 10ks, whereas I like the challenge of longer distances.

It was nice to have company on the drive there and back, and he also kept me company for the first five miles before going off at his own pace. He gave me some good advice he'd picked up in a magazine: break the race into 3 segments - first five miles, nice and steady, second five miles, strong and steady, last 5k - flat out.

I tried to bear this in mind but was more interested in maintaining a good, steady pace (9 minute miles) all the way round. The real positive was that I managed just that, and only found myself tiring between the 10 and 11-mile markers (but strangely managed a 9-minute mile, despite a steep hill) and managed to pick it up after that.

At the end I managed a strong finish, due mainly to the fact that with about half a mile to go I passed a rather annoying man who kept shouting at himself ("hurry up!" "come on you lazy sod!") and actually hitting himself. Each to their own, I know, but I can't see how that helps.

In the end I think it helped me because I managed a bit of a sprint to get away from him and make sure he didn't catch me up. So I ended up with a new PB of 1:57:30 (by my watch). Not great, but at least it's progress and the best thing was I felt pretty much ok all the way round..but the thought that I have to run twice that distance in 8 weeks' time did occur to me a few times..ok the whole way round if you must know..

For this reason I dragged myself out on a training run in the evening (about 6-7 miles) which was quite painful. Mainly I think, because I'd eaten lunch quite late and had a bit stitch pretty much all the way. And believe it or not, not a drop of alcohol passed my lips in the evening. It really is time to get serious.

Would I do this race again? Hard to say. Probably yes, for the scenery, which was fabulous. The organisation left a lot to be desired - I kind of resent being told repeatedly to move along in the queue for goodie bags when they should have been prepared in advance and were hardly worth waiting for anyway.

Highlight of the day was without a doubt meeting a man who pushes his son, who is in a wheelchair, round all his races with him. That really takes something special, and I told him so at the end. Andy and myself got chatting to him before the race, and saw him at several points during the run. I made a point earlier of looking at his website, and I'm sure he won't mind me plugging it here:

http://www.micknphil-marathonlads.co.uk/

So all in all, a highly enjoyable day, and definitely an experience I'd like to have again.

I just hope I'm saying the same thing in 8 weeks' time..

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, July 2006