Snowdonia Trail Half-Marathon 2017

For years I had promised my daughter that I'd take her to Wales to climb Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), but it's one thing to say it and another to actually organise it. I needed to do something to help to make it happen, so I entered the Snowdonia Trail Half-Marathon which is hosted by Always Aim High. We booked a place to stay and that was that... we were going to Wales!

As you'd expect, the race features quite a bit of climbing, so during the early months of 2017 I started to work some hillier routes and races into my training. In February I ran the Valentines 10ish Mile Challenge and then in March I ran The Ridge 10k - both hilly courses and I was happy that the training was going well.

pre-race

At the end of March I developed a pain in my right ankle which was quite intense at times, so I almost stopped running completely and largely switched cycling instead. This helped to avoid worsening the ankle pain, but it still lingered on through April, May and June.

July finally came around and although I had sprinkled some more running into my routine, it was nowhere near the volume I would have liked before running a half-marathon. I made the decision to drop down to the 10k option, but when I looked on the Always Aim High website, I saw that I'd missed the 30 day deadline for changing distance.

waiting to get going

I decided that I'd just have to crack on with the Half-Marathon. I removed all thoughts of a time goal from my mind and got myself in the right mindset to just enjoy being on the mountain and try to manage my balance between running and walking in order to keep the ankle happy. The new goal was to get around the course without setting my recovery back further.

We set off for Wales on the Friday before the race and I had a nice easy run around Conwy parkrun on the Saturday with my friend Adam who had also entered the Half-Marathon. Race day soon came around and I headed off to into Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri (Snowdonia National Park) with my wife, daughter and father-in-law. My wife had downloaded the official tracking app to track my progress.

the first two kilometres

The race village was based in Llanberis and we parked in one of the car parks off of the main road for £4 which covered the full day (parking can be up to twice the amount in the more popular car parks). I walked the 200 metres or so to the race village and picked up my race number with in-built timing chip and I also stocked up on energy bars as I was instructed to take 'as many as you like'. I also picked up the technical race t-shirt that I had ordered when I had signed up.

The village featured a few stalls, mostly centred around mountain running gear, selling trail shoes, waterproof clothing etc.  There was also a stall selling fresh coffee and snacks, a truck with hot food and some inflatables to keep the kids entertained. Then there were around 15 or so portable toilets plus a few urinals to speed up the process for the gents.

the first real mountain path (2 - 6km)

Being a mountain race, there were a few items of compulsory equipment for every runner; waterproof jacket (with hood), and waterproof trousers - both of these were required to have 'taped seams'. Energy bars, hat, gloves and a mobile phone were also mandatory. It was also advisable to carry your own water, but there were water stations on the course. I had all of my gear in my running backpack which was feeling a lot heavier than I was expecting.

In addition to the half-marathon and the 10k, there was also a marathon and this race started at 9am. That left a short while to revisit the toilets, say my farewells and then get in place to listen to the Half-Marathon safety briefing at 9.15am. The half-marathon was started at 9.30am and considering my plan for the race, I started quite near the back of the pack.

The weather forecast was for a bright, sunny day with barely any wind and this really was a bonus.

snowdon ranger path

The race itself started off by heading through the streets of Llanberis and eventually onto a narrower lane where the climbing started. I dropped down to a walk as the road got steeper because those around me that were running were not moving any faster anyway. The first water station was on this road and I grabbed a cup of water to keep the hydration levels topped up. The road wound its way around and eventually at the 2km point we went off-road.

The path was generally flat to start with and I got myself running again - with the path being a little congested and passing possible, but not always easy, I stuck to running at a nice, easy pace and enjoyed the stunning scenery that I found myself immersed in. On my right was Foel Goch (605m) and the path ran along its contour lines as it lead us through Bwlch Maesgwm (pass).

snowdon ranger path (6 to 9.3km)

The rocky, mountain path gave way to a spongy, grassy section for a short downhill section and then, at the 6km point, the course joined the Snowdon Ranger Path and we moved along the southern side of Moel Cynghorion (674m). The view to the south was simply stunning. I'd already eaten an energy bar by now and all along the route I had been switching between running and walking - largely dictated by the severity of the incline or the will of the masses. It was quite fitting that the wind howling way up on the mountain sounded just like a dragon.

At 8km into the race, the real climbing began and it's difficult to see how anyone could continue running at this stage of the race. It was a slow plod and my Garmin showed my pace generally hovering around the 20 minute per kilometre mark, but there were occasions where it dropped much slower. Llyn Ffinnon-y-Gwas (reservoir) glistened below as we passed along the southern side of Clogwyn-Du-Yr-Arduu (cliffs whose north face is said to offer the best climbing in Britain).

reaching the top / view of snowdon's summit (Yr Wyddfa)

The climbing continued with the gradient regularly between 20%-30% (sometimes steeper). I ate another energy bar and got some water from my bag here. Underfoot the path had been stony, but changed to large boulders used as steps as the zig-zagged its way up. Then the boulders gave way to a looser scree type of surface and then the course crossed the Snowdon Mountain Railway tracks.

One hour and fifty minutes into the race and I finally reached the point where the Snowdon Ranger Path meets the Llanberis Path - it's highest point of the course. My Garmin recorded the distance as 10.3km (almost halfway) and the elevation as 968m above sea level. The race does not go all the way to the summit (it's about another 500 metres along the path and over 100m higher), so I took a moment to admire it before continuing with the race.

llanberis path (10-11km)

The course now follows the Llanberis Path all the way down, and you might think that going down would be easier. It is not. The first few hundred metres had a slight camber to the left and as I ran over the loose slate fragments there was a constant pull to the left - it was really odd. The decline became steeper and the stones and slate that make up the path were hazardous with the risk of slipping pretty high.

There was a fantastic view across the Llanberis Pass towards the Glyderau (I climbed Tryfan, Yr Garn, Glyder Fach and Glyder Fawr about ten years ago) from the 11.7km point which is where the Llanberis path goes underneath the railway line for the first time. After this the path switched from loose slate to large boulder stepping stones - these were no easier to negotiate and I came down quite heavy on my right foot causing a little pain in my ankle on more than one occasion.

view across to the glyders from the llanberis path

The path continued down at a gradient between 20%-38% (according to my Garmin) and the thought of twisting my ankle badly lead me to take these parts a little slower than I had imagined I would. The runners had really spread out and there were times where I couldn't see any other race participants. At about 13.5km I passed the Halfway House and received a few cheers from the hikers that were resting on their way to the summit.

The path generally got easier to run on the more I descended and I eventually caught up with another runner who informed me that he had already taken two tumbles on his way down the mountain. Every now and then there were some more sections of uneven rocks to negotiate and again I came down heavy on my ankle. Fortunately I got away with it again.

further down the llanberis path (11-16km)

The view to the left across the valley was just sublime - the Afon Arddu (river) was glistening in the sunshine and all that could be heard were the sounds of the passing steam trains and sheep bleating. As I neared the end of the Llanberis Path, the view to the right opened up and in the distance I could see the Dinorwic Slate Quarry which is where I would be heading shortly.

The end of the Llanberis Path was almost perfectly aligned with the 16km (10 mile) point of the course and my watch says I reached this point at around two hours and thirty-two minutes. With the uneven ground behind me for now and the smooth tarmac road still heading downhill, I quickly gained some speed and started flying past other runners.

tarmac path back to llanberis and the slate quarry steps (16-18km)

Into Llanberis, across the road and then through a bit of woodland behind the Royal Victoria Hotel, I ran just metres away from Dolbadarn Castle before popping out on the road that leads towards the previously mentioned slate quarry. At the end of the road I was directed into a small alley way (18km) which turned into a slate staircase which zig-zagged its way up the side of the quarry.

Given that I had been taking the race at a pace well below my ability, I was full of beans here and wanted to attack the steps, however I was stuck behind a long line of runners who had most-likely given everything they had already and looked totally knackered. At the end of the staircase, I was in a forest and running mostly on dirt trails.

finish area (21.1km) [note: clock showing time since start of the marathon]

Every time an opportunity presented itself I would move forward a place. There were rocks and other hazards on the trail path but it was a lot of fun here and while I was still moving slower than I would have liked, I was at least now back to running. This climb was the most frustrating section of the race for me and it took over 17 minutes at snail's pace to cover the 1km part staircase / part trail path of ascending (most of that was spent at a painfully slow pace on the staircase). By the 19 kilometre point the forest trail path was generally starting to head back down. It twisted and turned, was pretty technical, but above all, brilliant fun.

At the bottom of the path, the course returned to downhill tarmac and passed The National Slate Museum, again I opened up my stride and my pace quickened, overtaking plenty of runners who had been reduced to a shuffle. My ankle felt ok and I put in a honest effort over the last kilometre, finally turning onto the field where it all began, giving a thumbs up to my family and then crossing the line.

food / medal and t-shirt collection

The first thing I did after crossing the line was grab a drink and dive into the trays of food that had been laid out in the finishers' area. Crisps, oranges, biscuits - I took quite a lot and kept on eating - I was so hungry. After about 10 minutes of eating and drinking, I finally moved onto the commemorative t-shirt and medal collection point. I went for the extra small t-shirt and it fits really well.

The results were available instantly via the app and I received a notification on my phone. I had crossed the line in a gun time of 3.16.35. Given that I started fairly near the back, my official chip time was faster at 3.15.37. I had finished in 235th position out of 518 participants - still well within the top 50% despite taking it easy.

the hoops conquered the mountain

I was then reunited with my family and my friend Adam who had put in a great race effort and finished around 45 minutes earlier than me. We had a few photos taken and then Adam and his wife esther had to leave to head back to Dartford. We took things at a slower pace and wandered around Llanberis for a while before hitting the road back to our Welsh accommodation.

The only thing we were a little disappointed with was the TDL Event Services app which sounded as if it would give regular updates as I reached certain points of the course - the official race website called it the 'Live Tracker'. The reality was that it just gave a notification that I had started and then another when I had finished, along with my finish time.

the course hill profile

That aside, from my point of view the race seemed to run flawlessly and the course was just spectacular. The fact that it was such a tough course actually made it easier for me to use a run-walk method so that worked out much better than I had imagined. Although not the longest distance I have run, this was the longest amount of time I had ever spent out on a course so it was new ground for me.

If you are looking to enter this race I think you need to plan to take at least 1 hour longer than your usual half-marathon time if you are towards the sharp end (sub 1.30 half-marathoner). If you are further back or not very good a running uphill, it could well take you a hell of a lot longer. For the record, the last runner logged a chip time of 8 hours.

my official race stats

I recorded the whole race using my Garmin and you can view the course GPS file, here: Snowdonia Trail Half-Marathon 2017. The total elevation gain recorded on my Garmin was 1,183 metres and the highest point of the course was recorded as 968 metres. Interestingly, my data reports my 'total moving time' as 3 hours flat (I stopped quite often to take photos). You can also view my Relive video of the course, here - Snowdonia Trail Half-Marathon 2017

Full results: Snowdonia Trail Half-Marathon 2017
Official chip-timed result: 3.15.37
Overall finishing position (gun): 235 / 518 (234th by chip)
Gender position: 186 / 317
Age group position: 29 / 51

Related blog posts from my visit to Wales:

• Conwy parkrun
• Penrhyn parkrun

Canterbury Half Marathon 2014

The Canterbury Half Marathon is organised by Nice Work in support of Pilgrims Hospices and is supported by the Canterbury Forest of Blean Rotary Club. It is run on undulating, and at some points hilly, country lanes just to the south of Canterbury town centre, in Kent. The running surface is 100% tarmac so road shoes (I wore a pair of my NB1080v3) were the order of the day.

Merton Farm [photo:7t]

This event took place on the August Bank Holiday Monday. I had made a note about it in my race calendar a number of months in advance of the event, but I didn't enter it until about a week beforehand. When I finally entered, I did so through the runbritain website and paid the affiliated fee of £16. Unaffiliated runners had to pay an extra £2.

The event hq was clearly signposted from the main road in the town centre and free car parking was available on an open grass field within the extensive grounds of Merton Farm. The toilets were provided in the form of portaloos - they were mostly single occupancy units but the addition of a male urinal-type unit which could accommodate about six men at a time was a welcome addition.

queue for the portaloos [photo:7t]

Race HQ contained the number and timing chip collection desk, the late entries desk, an official race t-shirt retail area, and a massage area. These were all under gazebo-style covering right next to the start/finish, which was handy because it was absolutely pouring down!

The race start time was 10am, which was a good time for me - it meant that I didn't have to get up too early to make it there in time. As I understand it, there was a 2 mile fun run and also a children’s race. They were both due to take place once the half-marathoners had set off.

#teamslgr kit on and out into the rain [photo:dani]

The Half Marathon itself got under way on time and despite starting a little too far back, I managed to head out at a reasonable pace. In order to filter all of the runners over the timing mats, the start line was quite narrow, so it took a little longer than I would have hoped to reach and filter through the start line.

The good news is that as it was chip timed each runners’ individual time was not actually affected by this - it’s just a little disheartening watching the runners ahead of you charge off into the distance while you are still standing still. Anyway, that’s how these things work and the fact that I've mentioned it shouldn't be taken as a complaint.

the start area [photo:7t]

The course is best described as a lollipop (although not quite in the traditional shape). The stick part is run at the beginning and the end of the race with a big loop (the sweet part) run during the middle miles. It’s hard to remember every detail of the course so I’ll run through it the best I can remember.

The first kilometre was slightly downhill with the following 3 kilometres taking the runners on a gradual incline. There was then a 500 metre or so downhill section that got very steep at one point - most of this part allowed an increase of pace, but the steepest point saw the brakes come on a little as the marshals were warning of slippery patches.

during the race (409) [photo: funk dooby]

The course flattened slightly before returning to a downhill where the runners entered the village of Petham. It’s only a small place but it was really great to see the locals out on the street in the rain supporting the runners - I gave waves and thumbs up as I passed to show that their support was appreciated.

If I remember rightly there were 4 opportunities to pick up some water on the course, and with the weather being cool and raining, they were more than sufficient. In fact, I only took water at two water stations and even then I didn't actually drink that much during the race. There were a few people out on the course supplying unofficial jelly babies or something similar but as I couldn't be sure if they were suitable for vegetarians, I just ran straight past.

the stick part of the course [from the official webpage]

At around 9.5 kilometres into the race, the route passed through the village of Waltham before heading out deeper into the countryside during the rest of the loop. On the course not all of the roads were closed but they were extremely quiet. The drivers that I encountered were all very respectful of the runners and most had pulled to the side of the road to allow space for us to pass.

I hadn’t set myself a specific time goal for this race because I had read that it was a tough course and approached it with a ‘see how it goes’ mind set. However, as I approached the halfway point, I worked out that I was on target for a possible sub-1.30 finish time - something that I hadn't even considered when reading about how hard some of the hills were.

the lollipop part [from the official webpage]

One of the most memorable parts of the race came around the halfway point. The course reached its highest point and the views from here were breathtaking, and that is coming from someone that had glasses covered in raindrops on a day when the cloud cover was low and thick. On a clear, sunny day this could be one of the nicest views from any race I have done so far.

The descent from the halfway point came in the form of a long, fast downhill section. It lasted for around a kilometre and when I glanced down at my Garmin I saw that I was flying along at 3.20 per kilometre pace (5.22 minutes per mile). I didn't glance for too long as I didn't want to risk slipping on the wet surface.

the hill profile

After this, I started to think about the uphill sections that were to come. And before I knew it, I had completed the loop and was heading back through Petham - this time it was uphill, and much steeper than I had remembered as I had descended into the village a short while earlier.

The road flattened out for a brief stretch and then began the hill that I had read so much about in previous years’ online reviews. I slowed down, kept my effort level the same and forgot about pace. As I reached the steepest point I was barely moving faster that walking pace, but I was firm in my intent to maintain a running motion and not to be reduced to a walk.

finish area [photo:dani]

In the end, it wasn't as bad as I had prepared myself for and I then hit the 3 kilometre long section that had been slightly uphill on the way out. Now being slightly downhill, and with only 4kms left to go, I naturally opened up my stride and began running a series of sub 4 minute kilometres - It was an amazing feeling and I loved this part of the course!

Then as my Garmin beeped to notify me that I had reached 20 kilometres, the final steady incline started. Some sections felt steeper on the way back than they had at the beginning of the race but I soon saw the 13 mile marker, and then the finish line appeared. I crossed it, collected my participation medal and wandered over to race HQ to find some water.

all done [photo:dani]

In addition to the water, I was pleased to see a few sweet treats so I tucked in before chatting to some fellow runners and then heading back over to the car to change out of my dripping wet kit. About an hour later I had worked my way through a couple of bouts of back seat cramping (don't ask) and finally managed to get into something dry and headed off.

The official results were up online later that day. I completed the course in 1:28.49 - only five seconds off my personal best which I set at the Paddock Wood Half-Marathon earlier in the year. There were 446 runners listed in the results and I was the 38th runner to cross the finish line (35th fastest if you go by the chip times), meaning that I finished well within the top 10% (8.5%).

medal [photo:7t]

I was pleased with my performance but at the same time I'm slightly disappointed that I hadn't realised how close to setting a new personal best I was going to be and in retrospect could have pushed a little harder during some parts of the course. However, given that it was a undulating/hilly course, I think that overall it will still go down as my best Half-Marathon performance to date.

The participation medal was nice and I really liked that it was a bespoke offering rather than one of those generic ones you get at a lot of races. I thoroughly enjoyed the race and would definitely run it again. I would just request a nice clear day so I can really enjoy that view at the halfway point!

Paddock Wood Half-Marathon 2014

I was supposed to run the Paddock Wood Half-Marathon back in 2012, but my running wasn't going so well and I made the decision to sit it out. Fast-forward to the end of 2013 and I finally felt that my training was in a good place, so I coughed up the cash and put my name down for the 2014 event.

All was silent until one day at the beginning of March and an envelope popped through my door from Sports Systems. I recognised it from the last time I had entered. Enclosed were my race number, timing chip, race day instructions, course map and a baggage tag.

This was my second race where I would be representing the 'So Let's Go Running' running group, so I had already attached my number to my SLGR singlet and was looking forward to representing the running group again (the first time was at the Knole Park 10k). The weather forecast was for a dry, partly cloudy day with the temperature at around 13 degrees at race start time, rising by a couple of degrees shortly after and the wind was at most just a fairly light breeze.

The Paddock Wood Half-Marathon is a popular event and 2014 marked the 25th year that it had been run. The course is described as being a flat PB course, and my goals were based on this.

Goal 1: Beat my previous PB (1.33.08, which I ran at the Headcorn Half-Marathon 2014)
Goal 2: Run under 1 hour and 30 minutes (sub-90 minutes)

Upon arrival, I parked in the main event car park which is in an industrial estate. There were other parking options including the train station, but there also seemed to be some other third-parties offering parking for a price. The only possible downsides with the official parking were... A. There aren't very many spaces so you have to arrive early. B. You can't leave until almost every single runner has completed the course, this is because the car park is located behind the finish line and there is simply no way out until the road re-opens.

There were a bank of toilets, male and female changing areas, a bag drop area, an official t-shirt stall, a medal engraving stall, and a shoe stall. It wasn't until I was being nosey around the official t-shirt stall that I noticed that the back of the t-shirt featured the names of every runner that had entered the race - really cool, I thought. So after an unintended extended warm-up jog to a cash point machine, I coughed up the £10 for one.

The course is almost completely flat. Every now and then there is a little undulation to deal with, but I found that I was able to maintain the same pace without too much trouble. During the route around the countryside outside of Paddock Wood the scenery is pretty much exclusively farmland. The course does go through a couple of smaller villages and there is some great support on offer. There were four water stations and an additional two water sponge stations on the course.

The race start time was 9.30am. At 9.05am I got in the queue for the toilets. At 9.27 I finally got to the front of the queue. So by the time I reached the start area, I found that I had to start a long way further back than I had intended and had something like 1,000 people in front of me. Once the race had been started, it took a full two minutes for me to reach the start line. So, the toilet situation is going to be my only gripe about the race - The amount of toilets (I think 31 of them plus a urinal) did not seem enough for the amount of runners.

Once I was finally on my way, I immediately started trying to filter through the crowds. It wasn't easy and it worked out that I was about 30 seconds down when I reached the 1 mile marker. It would have been easy to panic and try to get back on pace straight away, but I knew that that would most probably put me in a bad state towards the end of the race, so I kept to my intended pace plus a little extra when it felt right and kept my eye on my splits in order to try to gradually get back on track.

It worked out that throughout most of the miles, I remained about 20 seconds adrift of my times for hitting each mile marker. I knew this because I had used the Marathon Guide website to create a wristband with my goal time as being 89 minutes. My original idea was that I would start the race in the correct zone and try to remain well under the times listed. Anyway, the plan had changed and that was fine - these things happen.

I passed the half-way marker at 45.01 - I had hoped to be there a touch earlier but I felt strong and was confident of finishing in under 90 minutes. Finally at about the 8 or 9 mile point, I had started hitting the mile markers at the split times listed on my wristband. It had taken almost an hour of patience but I had caught up. Just after the 10 mile marker, I felt like it was time to start increasing the pace. Each of the last 3 kilometres were progressively faster than the last and although I was starting to feel a little tired, I was able to keep pushing right until the end.

I crossed the finish line with the gun time showing 1.30.43 (90.43), but with the two minute delay at the start, my actual half-marathon time by chip was 1.28.44 (88.44). So I had achieved both goals that I had set myself. I was given a goodie bag and my medal, the water in the goodie bag was much appreciated after the warm weather conditions. The medal is probably my favourite medal to date - They had their own bespoke design and with this being the 25th running of the event, it was pretty special.

This was a very well organised and brilliant race. The marshals were all friendly and the signage around the course ensured that there was no way of getting lost. The t-shirt with the names of all of the entrants printed on the back was such a brilliant idea and I'm glad that I bought one. From those points of view I would almost certainly enter this race again. I'd just ask for some extra toilet facilities to be provided to try to prevent the queue from building up so much.

The timing was taken care of by Sports Systems. I recieved a text message a few hours after the event containing my result. They were also published online later that day.

By gun time, I was 217th out of the field of 2070. After looking at the results in more detail, 41 people finished in front of me but with a slower chip time and one person behind me finished quicker than me. So I think that works out that I was 177th out of 2070 if you base it on the chip times.

Looking at my GPS data from the race. I'm happy with my nice even split times throughout the race. Obviously apart from the 1st where I was busy filtering and lost some time. The GPS readings brought the course out a little long but I was taking a lot of the corners wide in order to pass people on my way around, so I expected this. My fastest kilometre of the race was the 21st, which I managed to run at a pace quite similar to my current 10k race pace - It makes me wonder if I took it a little too easy.

Headcorn Half-Marathon 2014

23 February 2014

I entered this race the day before online registration closed (£15 for club runners or £17 for an unattached runner). It was a last minute decision and my initial plan was to use it as a training run. The training run then turned into first half at training pace with the second to be run at race pace. Then the day before the race I changed my mind again. I would aim to run the race at a pace that would bring me in just under my half marathon personal best time.

headcorn village green

On the day we headed down to Headcorn and parked up in the train station car park (£1). From here it was about a 5-10 minute walk down to the White Horse public house, which was being used for registration and as the secure bag storage area. I collected my number (45) with integrated timing chip and headed back to the car to get ready. (edit: the pub was quite small inside but their original larger hq arrangement fell through and the pub was used as a last minute replacement.)

The conditions on the day were pretty good for February. The temperature was around 9 degrees, and it was cloudy. The only downside was that it was a tad windy. The headwind at some points was fairly strong and I'm pretty sure it was worse during the second half. Overall, considering what the last few weeks had been like (storms, floods etc) I think we got a pretty good deal weather-wise.

Heading back over to the village green, we found the start/finish gantry and the public toilets. By now it was gone 8.50am and the race was due to start at 9am and the queues for the public toilets on the green were fairly short. There were also some toilets at the train station and at race hq. (edit: apparently there were some portaloos but there was no signage so I didn't manage to find them).

race hq at the white horse (list of runners)

The start/finish was on the village green and was quite muddy. With all runners lined up, there was a pre-race briefing but there was no amplification so I couldn't really hear anything. Anyway, I caught wind of the fact that the countdown had started so I was poised with my finger hovering over my GPS start button - ready to hit it with two seconds left to go before switching to my stopwatch and hitting that on the sound of the claxon.

The first part of the race was a lap on the grass around the village green which as I mentioned earlier was muddy. Once off the green the course is 100% tarmac all the way round (apart from the finish, but we'll get to that later). The race was advertised as being flat, and to a certain extent it was. I wouldn't say that it was pancake flat but it was flat enough to earn the 'flat' label. You could say there are some mild undulations throughout the course, the steepest of these was a 6.8% incline at its steepest point (according to my gps data) just before the 14 kilometre point.

the start

My intended pace was approx 7.30 per mile (4.40 per kilometre) which would have taken me around the course in about 1 hour and 38 minutes (resulting in a one minute pb). As we covered the first couple of miles it became apparent that I was running a little faster than this pace. I considered slowing slightly but as it felt very natural to run at this speed I stuck with it.

The race continued through the small country lanes around Headcorn. The roads were still open to traffic so every now and then we had to move to one side to allow vehicles enough space to pass. It worked pretty well and I made a point of saying thank you to the patient drivers that I encountered.

I think there were four water stations out on the course. Three of them were handing out water in cups and one in bottles. I took a drink at three out of the four stops, but only took a few sips each time. I haven't done any training runs where I drink whilst running so I didn't want to overdo it. It seemed to work out ok.

the runner completing the lap of the village green

As far as signage and marshaling were concerned, I can't fault either. The marshals were friendly and gave clear instructions on where the route was heading. They also had a bit of traffic management to contend with so I take my hat off to the marshals for doing such a great job.

Everything was going well up until the fifth mile. At this point my legs started to feel a little heavy - I have a feeling that running 12 kilometres (2 parkruns - one at time trial pace - plus a bit of jogging in-between) the day before had left me with slightly fatigued legs. I maintained my pace but a few other runners had begun to pass me - I let them go and didn't attempt to do anything silly.

Me (45) approaching the end (if you look closely you can see the hole in my glove) [photo: Funkydooby (blog)]

By the time I had got to the ten mile marker (16km), my legs had started to feel slightly refreshed. So I felt confident enough to push a little harder. I caught some people and moved in front of them. Then I caught some more. As I worked my way through the last five kilometres I kept pushing harder and harder. I caught and passed a few of the runners that had overtaken me during the tough middle miles. This was particularly satisfying.

Into the last kilometre and my legs were tired but my pace kept increasing. Again I overtook a few more runners here which helped boost my confidence even more. With a few hundred metres left to run, I overtook the next runner but he fought back and re-took the place and held on to cross the line just in front of me. The final sprint was back on the muddy village green - maybe some work could be done to relocate the start/finish to a tarmac area and avoid the potentially muddy grass at both the beginning and end in the future.

the finish (I'm there, just under the blue bike)

The only goodie on offer at this race was the medal, and this was handed to me as I crossed the finish line. There was also a water station with jaffa cakes at the end. We had intended to hang around for a little longer to watch some other runners that I know finish, but the ladies had been out in the wind for long enough and we all wanted to go and find some food for our lunch.

You can see my splits and the hill profile by looking at my GPS data from the race on Strava. I was pleased that I managed to hold my pace throughout the tough middle miles when my legs felt bad and I was very pleased that I was able to increase my pace every kilometre for the last six kilometres.

the obligatory shot 

My official finishing time by chip was 1 hour, 33 minutes and 8 seconds. The official results are on this web page. However, it looks like there may have been an issue with the timing chips system as quite a few runners have identical gun and chip times even though they didn't pass over the mats until almost a minute after the gun sounded. Something's not quite right there. I'll add an update if I hear anything else.

Finishing time (chip): 1:33.08 (new personal best)
Position: 47/380

Related links: The full set of photos by Funkydooby can be found on the South East Running Snaps blog - Headcorn Half Marathon 2014.

Half-Marathon Recovery (a work in progress)

My first half-marathon was tough on my body. I thought I'd write about my post-race aches and pains. It may not be very interesting to anyone else but it will provide me with a good source of information for when I race my next half (or any other longer distance race).

The most unexpected pain that the course inflicted on me is in my toe next to my big toes on both feet (does that make sense?). I'm putting this down to these particular toes taking a bashing inside my shoes on the downhill sections of the course. They hurt most when I press down on the toe nail (or if my socks do the same).


In the days leading up to the race:

• Left hamstring had been slightly tight.

Sunday 25 Sept - During the race:

• IT band twinged every so slightly every now and then. (possibly due to downhill sections).
• Towards the end of the race the ball of my left foot began to hurt (This is new).
• My right shoe rubbed the top of my foot near the ankle (not the first time it has done this).
• I did not have any problems with my left hamstring during the race.

Sunday 25 Sept - Post-race:

• Left hamstring felt tight straight after the race.
• Two of my toes were hurting, one on each foot.
• Ball of left foot was still hurting.
• Extremely thirsty.
• Extremely tired.

Monday 26 Sept - Rest day:

• DOMS in hamstrings (plus left hamstring still tight).
• DOMS in quads.
• DOMS in calves.
• Toes were still hurting but not as much as the previous day.
• Underside of left foot still slightly tender.
• Still quite tired.

Tuesday 27 Sept - Ran 5.6km at easy pace:

• Left hamstring was still tight.
• Toes were still hurting - I stubbed one on the rug and now it hurts more.
• The DOMS was still present. Fairly mild. When I say mild, I mean mild for me. I lift weights so am used to having DOMS somewhere in my body almost all the time.

Wednesday 28 Sept - Ran 12.3km at easy pace:

• Left hamstring was still tight - Running uphill seemed to make it feel worse.
• Toes were still hurting.
• The DOMS had pretty much gone.

Thursday 29 Sept - Ran 5.3km at easy pace:

• Toes were still hurting, but noticeably better.
• Hamstring still tight, possibly slightly better. Avoided hills during the run.
• No DOMS at all.

Friday 30 Sept - Scheduled rest day:

• Toes almost completely pain free.
• No noticeable tightness in hamstring but had complete rest day. Will continue to take it easy.

Saturday 1 Oct - Parkrun 5k (tempo run):

• Toes (right is back to normal / left is 99% normal)
• No noticeable pain in hamstring before the run, the tempo pace was about as fast as I could go without risking turning the tightness into something worse. Sat in cold bath once home, felt fine but will keep runs at easy pace throughout the next week.

Sunday 2 Oct Ran - 17.4km at easy pace

• Hamstring felt fine during the run but I did take it easy and I avoided hills as much as possible.

Monday 3 Oct - Ran 5km at easy pace

• Hamstring felt worse today. Decided to not run for the next few days.
• Used frozen peas to ice the hamstring during lunchtime.
• Used a freeze on the hamstring patch in the evening

Tuesday 4 Oct - Rest day

• I did not run. Hamstring felt ok, but still clearly not right. Needs more rest.

Wednesday 5 Oct - Rest day

• I did not run. Hamstring felt ok, but still not right.

Thursday 6 Oct - Scheduled to run short and easy

Run if feeling ok, if not rest and ice.

Friday 7 Oct - Rest day

Rest and ice.

Saturday 8 Oct - Parkrun (Race if possible)

Ice

With the exception of the tightness in the hamstring I have completely recovered from the half-marathon. The hamstring issue was not caused by the half-marathon.

Steve.

Tonbridge Half-Marathon 2011

The Race:

I was awake and filling myself with toast just before sunrise. I wanted to make sure I ate something but didn't want to eat too close to race time. Once I had done that I had time to kill so fired up the laptop to do a bit of early morning tweeting. Thanks for all of the good luck messages!

Once I had managed to drag the two ladies in my life out of bed it suddenly dawned on me that race time was drawing near. We only had to walk down the high street to get to the start line but we were cutting it extremely fine. We arrived at about 9:43 (not that I was checking my watch or anything). I immediately said my goodbyes and went into the start funnel. The wife whipped out our lovely camera so she could capture lots of photos for the blog. As usual I am extremely grateful.

waiting to start (aka the sun always shines on 7t)

There was supposed to be a system in place where runners line up in certain zones, each zone corresponding to an estimated finishing time. By the time I arrived the funnel was already backed up to the 2:30 zone. I did my best to filter through to the sub 1:45 zone but could only get as far as the back of the 1:45-2:00 zone. Not the best starting place for me, but I was happy enough to had got that far considering my non-early arrival time! To be honest, I think a lot of runners were ignoring the system. Another thing quite a few runners were ignoring was the ruling that personal music players were not to be used during the race.

Wrapped up in my own pre-race nerves while the speeches took place I fiddled with my phone, making sure my GPS tracking app was ready for action. Dame Kelly Holmes took hold of the mic and got a really good reception from the crowd. The people of Tonbridge really love her and it showed.

dame kelly holmes

Then we were off, or at least the people at the front were. From my position it took 22 seconds to shuffle through to the start line, I know this because I started my stopwatch when the air horn was blown. In retrospect I should have started it from the start line, but it didn't matter because I only used it as a rough guide while I was running.

The weather was amazing, although not necessarily good for racing. Most of the course was in direct sunshine, so when there was a chance to escape into the shade, I did. I had taken a bottle of Lucozade sport with me. I shouldn't have bothered because I couldn't drink it on the move. I managed a few sips but my stomach wasn't happy with receiving liquid while running at race pace. I should have just thrown the bottle away at one of the water stations but I kept hold of it in case I needed it later.

The course was really nice, but it felt hillier than the google maps hill profile that I had been studying for weeks had suggested. Once I got into some clear air I locked myself into a comfortable pace and admired the beautiful Tonbridge countryside. Living in the centre of the town it's sometimes easy to forget the beauty that is just a few minutes away.

course map

 I continued like this until I reached the village of Leigh (pronounced: Lie), where the reception was amazing! People had lined the streets and I waved as I passed them. I think I saw a gazebo on the village green. It was like a mini summer fete! Then the route took us on a huge loop before returning to Leigh to start the final 4 mile stretch back into the centre of Tonbridge. Just after this point I saw the last placed runner. He had just reached 3.5 miles (just over 5km) as I was approaching 10 miles (16km). He was going to be out there for a very long time. (In the results he is listed but doesn't have a time, I think they packed away the timing gear before he got back).

It was on this last section that the course took it's toll on me. At the 10 mile mark I remember thinking, this is good, we can have a nice sprint finish. But somewhere in between that point and the 11 mile mark I had completely changed my mind. All of a sudden just keeping going got considerably harder. I passed a couple of people that had resorted to walking and one that looked like he was about to see his pre-race meal again.

During my long training runs I had always wondered what the end of this race would be like. I had imagined myself smiling and sprinting towards the finish line. 'Bring it home' was always the phrase that came to mind. But today none of that happened. At 12 miles I was done, everything had gone. I had no energy, no smile, and my feet were hurting. The easiest thing to do would have been to stop. I honestly wanted to. I would never have forgiven myself if I had slowed down to a walk, let alone stopped completely.

approaching the end

I pushed on. The route came off the main road and onto a narrow country lane. Towards the end of the lane some people had gathered and were encouraging the runners by pointing out that the finish line was only three minutes away... My thought was 'I have to keep running for another three minutes? Oh crap!'. Then I reached the end of the lane and out onto the final 300 metres.

The 'bring it home' from my training runs didn't even cross my mind. I enjoyed and was thankful for the cheers from the crowds but everything I had went on trying to stay upright so, and I feel sad to admit it, I didn't interact with the crowds at all at this stage of the race. I was completely focused on reaching the finish line. Then, at last, I could see the blue timing chip mats on the floor up ahead. In the past I have commented on being glad to reach the end of a race, this was no different.

the end of the race

I crossed the line, relieved that I could finally stop running.

As expected, Dame Kelly Holmes was there to present the runners with their medals. She may have said something to me but I honestly can't remember. Everything was fuzzy. I needed some water, and I needed it straight away!

the wife tried to get a photo of dame kelly holmes giving me my medal

 I was glad there were marshals to tell me what to do because, with my mind in its current state, I had no idea. At some stage someone removed my timing chip, then I wandered along the finish area and saw some volunteers holding out goodie bags, so I took one. I was very specifically told 'there is water in the bag'. I must have looked like I needed it!

I left the finish area and went into the school grounds adjacent to the finish line. And there I saw a whole table full of cups of water. I took one, then another, and then another. Thirst partially quenched I turned around to find the wife and the baba approaching me. I presented the wife with the many things I had accumulated since the end of the race. The I popped back to grab another cup of water!

still a tad confused (why am i wearing a medal?)

I heard an announcement that the first batch of runners' times were now online. Unbelievable. So impressive.

After a brief sit down on some steps to rest (which I thought may be my final resting place) the wife showed me something special she had managed to get while I was running (see photo below).

a message from dame kelly holmes

We then went off to pick out a souvenir tech t-shirt, which were being sold for £12:50 each. I really didn't have much brain power left for shopping, but I was faced with a decision. They had lots of different colours to choose from. There was a really nice green but that was only available in the women's fit. I then narrowed it down to a deep red and a navy blue before finally scrapping that idea and going for a royal blue one.


Now for some stats:

I checked my stopwatch at each mile marker, these are the ones that I can remember. The times below reflect what my stopwatch said, which was based on gun time and not my chip time, not that it really matters.

1 mile - 0:08:00
2 miles - 0:14:32
3 miles - 0:22:30
6 miles - 0:44:??
8 miles - 0:59:53
10 miles - 1:15:??

In addition I have checked my GPS km splits and I am very pleased with the way that I held quite an even pace right until the end. I won't list them here but you can take a look at my runningAHEAD log for the km splits if that kind of thing interests you.

• Overall: 98/820 (or 94/820 if you go by the chip time) Top 12%.
• Gender: 80th / 514.
• Senior Male: 46th / 233
• Age Grading: 59.55%
• Steve/Steven/Stephen: 3rd/20 - I'm pushing my luck here.

My Time: 1:39:42

Other things:

• There was a race programme. It had a list of all of the competitors names. That was a nice touch.

• The race director stayed in regular contact via email in the run up to the event and sent an email out the day after. I liked this.

• The race pack included everything required to race. Meaning that I could just turn up and run without having to queue to collect the timing chip on the day. 

• In my opinion the event ran very well. There were loads of marshals, the course was clearly marked, the volunteers/marshals were all very friendly and offered loads of encouraging words as I passed them.

• The results were available online almost instantly. This was impressive.

• The only piece of information that I didn't see on the website or in the race pack was whether the course would have mile markers, kilometre markers or both. In the end it was mile markers, which I thought it would be. I would have preferred to see both, I love to check my splits as a go around.

• The goodie bag wasn't as good as at some other events. But this event did have a much more reasonable entry fee, so it makes up for the lack of goodies in the bag.

• My only real disappointment was that my name was not called out at the end of the race. I heard a marshal radioing my race number to mission control and was listening for my name but I didn't hear it, neither did my wife. I had been looking forward to that.

-----------------

Are you still here?

Thanks for sticking with it, I know it was long.

Steve.

P.S. I enjoyed it thoroughly and will definitely be back next year! 

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